Assemblyman Joseph Angelino (R,C-Norwich)

Column by Assemblyman Joseph Angelino

(R,C-Norwich)

Recently, Gov. Hochul and her administration announced the closing of yet another prison, this time in the North Country. Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Franklin County will be the latest casualty in the governor’s misguided war on law enforcement. This will be the ninth prison closure under this administration.

This makes no one safer; not the officers, the prisoners nor the public. Closing correctional facilities will do nothing to protect anyone; in fact, it will make conditions more dangerous because of the concentration of inmates in fewer facilities. When a prison closes, those incarcerated at the facility must be moved to another facility, resulting in overcrowding and a tense, dangerous situation. Especially at a time when we are facing a shortage of correctional officers, this influx of new prisoners risks overwhelming the infrastructure already in place at these other facilities. Let me remind you that at the end of November, there were still more than 2,000 National Guardsmen working in prisons across the state because of the shortage of correctional officers.

It doesn’t help either that with the HALT Act in effect, officers are severely limited in the things they can do to remove dangerous and violent incarcerated individuals from the general population. To increase safety for everyone, the HALT Act must be repealed immediately.

In addition to safety issues, the closures of prisons can devastate local communities, as many rely on the facility for jobs, not just officers, but also the civilian staff. I have seen this firsthand, close to home, with the closing of Camp Pharsalia in Chenango County and Camp Georgetown in Madison County.

And finally, closing these prisons is just disrespectful to the staff inside. Under the budget the Majority passed, these prisons can be closed in expedited fashion, often leaving employees with little-to-no time to figure out what they are going to do, and while the governor will claim they can just be moved to another facility, it isn’t fair to these hard-working folks to be forced to uproot their entire lives and move simply because the governor wants to virtue signal to the progressive left.

Gov. Hochul is way out of line, and she isn’t the right person for the job when it comes to handling the prison system. It is obvious the governor is only listening to one set of people to develop her prison strategy. She has turned a blind eye to the problems inside the walls and even fired correctional officers who dared to complain about conditions inside facilities. It is especially callous that she made the decision to announce this closure right before the holidays.

However, I will continue to be a voice for law enforcement in the Assembly and will continue to fight every day to uphold law and order, as well as to treat correctional officers with respect.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to my office.

Assemblyman Angelino represents the 121st  Assembly District, which includes parts of Broome County, Delaware County, Madison County, Chenango County and Otsego County. Follow Assemblyman Angelino on Facebook, www.facebook.com/AngelinoforAssembly.