Assaults on jailers skyrocket under new commish
Serious injuries to correction officers from inmate violence spiked 68 percent in the first six months after a new jails commissioner took command, city figures show.
Statistics compiled by the Mayor’s Office of Operations also found that the use of force by officers soared by more than 153 percent during the same stretch of July through December 2017, compared with the same period in 2016.
Cynthia Brann was named interim commissioner of the Department of Correction in July 2017, and got the official nod in October.
But Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Elias Husamudeen said the problem of increased jail violence originated in October 2016, when Mayor de Blasio ordered a halt to punitive segregation for detainees younger than 22.
“The union has been saying to the mayor that if you eliminate punitive segregation, your violence is going to go up,” Husamudeen told The Post. “The man didn’t listen.”
City officials said that despite the increase, 2017 was one of the safer years at city jails in recent history.
“Fewer officers were seriously hurt by inmates last year than in every year from 2012 through 2015,” said Deputy Correction Commissioner Peter Thorne.
Officials said 38 officers were injured in all of 2017, up from 30 in 2016.