Is safety in New York prisons being sacrificed for political optics? Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration faces serious accusations of obscuring the true extent of inmate violence by redefining assaults as mere "harassment" in a controversial new policy.
Under a Dec. 31 memo, the Hochul administration is reclassifying attacks on correction officers as lesser offenses, prompting backlash from officers, unions, and political critics who claim it hides rising prison dangers while statistics show assaults surged in 2024, as the New York Post reports.
The issue came to light with a memo issued by N.Y. Corrections Department Deputy Commissioner Michael D’Amore. This document redefines what qualifies as an assault versus lower-level misconduct in state prisons.
Under the new guidelines, an inmate tearing an officer’s shirt pocket during food delivery would be labeled as harassment or disruptive behavior. Only if the inmate also slams the officer’s face into a fence would it be deemed assault.
Other examples highlight the policy shift. Throwing an empty milk carton at an officer is now just harassment, while a frozen carton qualifies as assault. Similarly, pulling an officer’s arms into a cell is harassment unless restraints are weaponized.
The memo introduces "harassment" as a reportable category for Unusual Incidents. This reclassification has sparked outrage among those who work in these volatile environments every day, feeling their risks are being minimized.
Corrections officers view this as retaliation from the Hochul administration following last year’s illegal strike. After that event, about 2,000 officers were fired, leaving facilities critically understaffed and reliant on over 2,000 National Guard troops.
The Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association has fiercely opposed the changes. They warn that assault statistics will appear artificially lower, painting a false picture of safety in New York prisons under this new framework.
The union pushed for broader offense categories like menacing or reckless endangerment. However, they claim the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) ignored their input and acted unilaterally in implementing these changes.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has sharply criticized the policy. “Let’s be clear: when an inmate grabs an officer, throws objects at an officer, or drags an officer into a cell, that is assault,” Blakeman declared.
While progressive policies often aim for reform, redefining violence hardly protects those on the front lines. President Donald Trump has long championed law and order—perhaps New York could use a dose of that clarity now.
Blakeman also pointed to the HALT Act, enacted in 2022, limiting solitary confinement. He argues that it has fueled prison violence, a claim backed by data showing inmate-on-staff assaults rising 39% to 2,072 in 2024 from 1,490 in 2022.
Inmate-on-inmate assaults tell a similarly dire story, doubling to 2,984 in 2024 from 1,474 two years prior. These numbers suggest a crisis that reclassification won’t solve, no matter how the reports are worded.
DOCCS denies diluting assault definitions, calling such accusations unfounded. “The safety of everyone in our facilities is our top priority,” a department representative stated, though Governor Hochul’s office offered no immediate comment on the brewing controversy.
Redefining terms won’t redefine reality for correction officers facing daily threats. If safety is truly the priority, as DOCCS claims, then supporting staff over semantics should be the path forward in New York prisons.
