LEGISLATURE STUFF- A Call to End the HALT

By Michael Ryan
CATSKILL - They have not been legally involved in the Correction Officers strike in New York State prisons but Greene County Legislature members say they are directly involved, making their collective voice heard.
Lawmakers, during a special meeting on Wednesday night, approved a resolution calling on State government officials to repeal the HALT Act which jail workers say rests at the heart of their walkout.
CO’s in lockups across the State began leaving their posts in mid-February,    joined by fellow officers in Coxsackie and Greene, citing unsafe conditions and debilitating shortages of personnel, resulting in worker burnout.
An agreement between the State and New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) was hammered out, late last week, to mixed reactions.
Left on the table was the Humane Alternatives for Long Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act, enacted in 2022 in every State facility.
HALT limits or prohibits the use of solitary confinement, a method of control seen as inhumane by supporters. CO’s say HALT shackles their ability to effectively curtail bad behavior.
According to NYSCOPBA, a record-setting 2,072 assaults on staff and an all-time high of 2,983 inmate-on-inmate assaults occurred, last year.
As part of the agreement between the State and NYSCOPBA), and under the circumstances, a temporary cessation of certain aspects of the HALT restrictions will be in place for 90 days.
That doesn’t go far enough for county lawmakers, with legislature chairman Patrick Linger saying, in an interview, “we’ve been getting many phone calls from family members of Corrections Officers.
“We’re being told of officers going to work and not being let to go home, being there 96 straight hours,” Linger said.
“The National Guard has been called in but they aren’t trained for this kind of duty. It makes it even more dangerous for them,” Linger said.
“Families who are closely involved are asking if there is anything we can do to help out,” Linger said, prompting the HALT-related resolution.
The resolution states, in part, “the HALT Act essentially eliminates any meaningful disciplinary sanctions for inmates who commit violent acts.
“Convicted murderers, career violent criminals, and other dangerous inmates already serving life sentences in particular now have virtually no significant disincentive to commit violent acts while incarcerated.
“By eliminating serious disciplinary sanctions for violent acts committed by
inmates in NYS correctional facilities, the HALT Act has effectively incentivized such violent acts,” the resolution states.
“The HALT Act has thereby contributed to an increasingly violent environment within NYS correctional facilities, thereby endangering the Correction Officers, civilian staff and inmates within such facilities.
“Even prior to the enactment of the HALT Act, confinement to the SHU did not constitute true “solitary confinement,” and could only be imposed subject to significant procedural safeguards, including notice and a hearing,” the resolution states.
“Even prior to the enactment of the HALT Act, inmates confined to SHU had access to outdoor recreation, personal visits, and commissary.
“The HALT Act prohibits segregated confinement for "special populations”, if the inmate is 21 years or younger, which is typically the most unpredictable and violent population,” the resolution states.
Therefore,”the Greene County Legislature calls upon the New York State Legislature and the Governor to enact immediately legislation repealing S.2836, known as the HALT Act.”
Further, the measure calls for, “restoring the prior inmate disciplinary framework, which provided for meaningful disciplinary sanctions to deter
violent conduct by inmates, while also respecting inmates’ procedural and personal rights.”
Lawmaker Michael Bulich (District 1, Catskill) staunchly supported the local resolution, saying, “it’s about time we put law and order first and not the criminals.
“It’s one thing to give people due process, but once they’re convicted of a crime we have to protect the people working in these prisons and make sure they have what they need to do their jobs.”
Questioning decision-making at the State level that initially led to the HALT constrictions, Bulich says, ‘in matters like this you have to think with your head. It’s trouble if you think with your heart.
Having heard from the constituency, Bulich says, “in general, the people who have talked to me, and people I know, are just disgusted with the whole situation, and this is the tip of the iceberg.”