By Scoop Stanton
I used to work for the New York State Department of Correctional Services as a Correction Officer. I worked at the infamous Sing Sing prison as well as Bedford Hills. A maximum-security prison for women. To be honest, it was easier to deal with the most savage men that New York State locked up. It was a dangerous, disgusting, thankless job. I’ve seen more anal cavities than a proctologist. I’ve had to watch grown men go to the bathroom. I was also involved in a riot in B Block in Sing Sing one Sunday afternoon in April, 1996. The front gate had to call the off going shift to get back in and help us! Months later a brand new captain arrived at Sing Sing. He was in a passageway when inmates from A Block was returning from the yard to the housing unit. He was slashed. I know what you brave men and women go through. That’s why at the end of the show James Edwards says: “For those who work the streets and the jails, thanks for keeping us safe.” That’s my tribute to you. I’ve been there.
Fights, stabbings, getting “shit down,” contraband flowing faster than Amazon, the grievances against the CO’s and constant threats and insults against CO’s. Add to the fact that these people work nights, weekends, and holidays, missing their kids growing up and most end up divorced, its amazing that these people return to work. But they do.
Well they did. Members of the New York State Correction Officer Benevolent Association have went on strike. The CO’s went on strike because of unsafe working conditions and staff shortages. Nobody wants to take the job thanks to the war on cops, and those who do take the job, leave. You now have CO’s working literally 24 hours sometime because there’s no relief. Add to the fact the jails are much more dangerous because District Attorneys won’t convict inmates who assault officers. You can also thank Governor Kathy Hochul for running the jails into the ground. When I was a “turnkey” fortunately the Governor was George Pataki. The jails are currently secured by the New York National Guard.
Here’s my message to my former brothers and sisters on the thin gray line: get back to work! This is not “Robocop.” You swore an oath as Peace Officers to ensure the care, custody and control of these inmates. In those jails, not only are those crooks but the civilians that work in the jails. And yes, I know those civilians are the same ones that will drop dimes on you for anything and always take the side of the crook and hate you, but they are also under your protection. Forget the counselors, teachers, kitchen staff, medical people that make your jobs even harder. Think about the members of the New York State National Guard. They have been called up to walk the blocks! They are untrained and uninformed. Send these people home. Get back to work.
SEVEN FIVE RADIO 