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DiPietro Condemns DOCCS Memo as Political Cover for Prison Violence
- David Dipietro
- Jan 12
- 1 min read
Assemblyman David DiPietro (R,C-East Aurora) today blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) memo as a cynical attempt to rewrite reality amid escalating violence inside New York’s correctional facilities. Since the governor signed the HALT Act in 2022, inmate-on-staff assaults have surged nearly 40%, while inmate-on-inmate violence has more than doubled. Despite these alarming trends, more than 2,000 National Guard troops remain stationed in prisons as DOCCS struggles to rebuild a depleted workforce. Rather than confronting the consequences of her policies, the governor is downgrading assaults on paper while conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate.
“The governor has totally hung correction officers out to dry. This is yet another vindictive move in her war against our correctional system, putting COs in greater danger just to save face over the surge in violence caused by the HALT Act. Our officers deserve leadership, not political cover-ups.”
Thank you for keeping this critical situation on the front burner. Please also fight for those who were on disability that were fired as well as the brave CO's that were fired due to their concern for their safety as well as the safety of their prisoners after the HALT act was passed, they have been left without insurance, jobs and the inability to collect unemployment, even from the seasonal jobs that they were able to secure after being fired. I hope that at some point they will be compensated for the Governors illegal use of her power. Someone needs to be held accountable