NEW. | Corrections and State | Community Supervision KATHY HOCHUL ANTHONY J. ANNUCCI Governor Acting Commissioner MEMORANDUM To: Incarcerated Population From: Anthony iHhueci Acting Comyhissioner Subject: Assaults on Staff and Facility Safety Date: November 22, 2021 Throughout my tenure as Acting Commissioner, | have taken many steps to help put a human face on the incarcerated individual. | want to be as supportive as possible whenever the population participates in progressive programs and engages in uplifting and inspiring activities. | have attended and spoken at numerous college graduations, Ted-talk events, and artistic performances by the population. | have highlighted to the media the many different charitable works that are performed by the population, such as growing food for food pantries, preparing canines for adoption, making monetary donations so that children in need at Christmas can have a toy, and even knitting caps for new-born infants. These are only a few examples of the many uplifting things that are routinely undertaken by the population. By the same token, there are some individuals confined within the Department who lately, and without warning or provocation, have chosen to commit extremely serious assaults against staff. This includes civilian as well as security staff, and female as well as male staff. I have over thirty-seven years of experience in this agency, and while there has always been the occasional very troubling incident, the trend | am seeing of late, in terms of the sheer savagery of the assault, the randomness of the assault, and the lack of any precipitating event before the assault, is extremely disturbing, This will not be tolerated. Make no mistake about it. This Department will do everything within its power to keep everyone safe from assault, regardless of whether the person in an employee, other incarcerated individual, volunteer, visitor, or contractor. This in turns means holding the guilty party fully accountable in a court of law. Regardless of the county where a facility is located, this Department has a strong working relationship with the local District Attorney's Office. These relationships are critical to ensure effective prosecutions. In fact, pursuant to Correction Law Section 606, the Department will pay all reasonable costs for the ‘The Harriman State Campus, 1220 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12226-2050 | (518) 457-8126 | www.doces.ny govIncarcerated Population Assaults on Staff and Facility Safety Page 2 November 22, 2021 prosecution of an incarcerated individual who commits a crime while in a facility. Money is no object when it comes to staff safety. More importantly, any violent felony assault conviction will lead to an additional determinate sentence of imprisonment, that must be imposed consecutive to the existing sentence of imprisonment. Furthermore, a new felony conviction could even lead to sentencing as either a persistent felony offender, or persistent violent felony offender. In both scenarios, a maximum term of life would be imposed Article 120 of the penal law lists the different types of assault in New York, the majority of which are classified as violent felony offenses (VFO). The maximum penalties for VFO assaults are: 25 years for a class B; 15 years fora class C; and 7 years for a class D --all of which MUST be imposed consecutive. A separate period of post release supervision must also be imposed. To maximize deterrence, in any serious assault situation, the Department will seek the maximum possible penalty. | will end on the note that I started. | am strongly supportive of progressive programs and the positive impacts and transformative changes that incarcerated individuals can bring about within their own lives and the lives of their fellow New Yorkers. However, we cannot have the types of programs we support without a fundamentally safe environment, both for staff and volunteers to work in, and incarcerated individuals to live in. Ifall of us work tirelessly toward this common goal, we can continue to be a national leader in the field of corrections, both from a safety perspective and a programmatic perspective. “The Harriman State Campus, 1220 Washington Avenve, Albany, NY 12226-2060 | (518) 457-8126 | www.doccs.y gov