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Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci informed lawmakers about the uptick in cases during a Cayuga County Legislature Public Safety Committee meeting in April. While there is not historical data available, Grome Antonacci confirmed to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV that her office is seeing more cases stemming from "large-scale disturbances and inmates assaulting correctional officers with weapons." 

In 2022, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision reported 1,489 assaults on staff and 1,486 assaults on incarcerated individuals, both records. DOCCS provided additional data to Ë®¹ûÅÉAV showing that the rate of assaults on staff was 47.6 per 1,000, up from 36.8 per 1,000 in 2021. The rate of assaults on incarcerated individuals was 48.1 per 1,000, up from 34.6 per 1,000 in 2021. 

Injuries to incarcerated individuals and staff both increased by 24%, according to the department, and 15% of assaults on staff occurred in residential rehabilitation units, which were established under the Humane Alternatives to Long Term Solitary Confinement Act. The law seeks to restrict the use of solitary confinement and limits how long incarcerated individuals may be kept in special housing units to no more than 15 consecutive days. 

The increasing violence is occurring despite a declining incarcerated population. In 2022, the statewide prison population was 30,872, down from 39,243 in 2020. 

DOCCS began collecting data on prosecutions of assaults on staff and incarcerated individuals, but a department spokesperson noted that "there is not enough complete data to draw any conclusions at this time." 

In Cayuga County, though, Grome Antonacci is seeing more work for her office. She said that's due to the county having two state prisons: Auburn Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison, and Cayuga Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Moravia. 

Grome Antonacci said her office is reviewing a mess hall disturbance that occurred at Auburn Correctional Facility in 2022 and involved an inmate assaulting a correctional officer. There was also an officer attacked by an inmate at Cayuga Correctional Facility in March. Another incarcerated individual who assaulted an officer at Cayuga in 2022 was recently indicted. 

Before HALT took effect, there was a vicious assault at Auburn prison that left an officer with a severe laceration after he was slashed by an inmate. The inmate, Narada Matthews, pleaded guilty in March 2022. 

When these assaults occur, Grome Antonacci explained that DOCCS and the New York State Police will investigate the crimes. When the investigation is completed, the state police will forward its materials to the district attorney's office, which determines whether a felony prosecution is warranted. Prosecutors then present the case to a grand jury for an indictment. 

With HALT in place, Grome Antonacci said criminal charges are the "main deterrent to inmate assaults on staff."

"We have prioritized the review and prosecution of these cases with that factor in mind," she added.