NCJ Number
179227
Date Published
1997
Length
45 pages
Annotation
Data and information on unusual incidents in New York State correctional facilities from January through December 1997 cover the number and rate of such incidents, the rate by facility security level, inmate weapon use, inmate deaths, inmate assaults on staff and other inmates, the extent of injury to staff, and the number of incidents in which staff force was required to resolve the incident.
Abstract
There were 8,923 unusual incidents during January-December 1997. The rate of unusual incidents was 128.1 incidents per 1,000 inmates. The rate of unusual incidents was highest in maximum-security facilities, with 249.8 incidents per 1,000 inmates. Medium-security level prisons experienced a rate of 76.3 per 1,000 inmates; minimum-security, 31.7; minimum-security shock incarceration facilities, 48.6; and minimum-security camps, 48.3. Weapons were used by inmates in 35.1 percent of unusual incidents; weapons were most often used during inmate assaults on other inmates. There were 221 inmate deaths in 1997. These included 4 homicides (3 occurred while the inmate was in the community) and 14 suicides(1 death while the inmate was in the community). An additional 193 deaths were due to natural causes, and 10 deaths were attributed to accidents or other causes. There were 985 inmate assaults on staff in 1997, and there were 1,860 inmate assaults on other inmates in 1997. Most unusual incidents were resolved without injuries to staff. Staff persons used force to resolve 14.4 percent of unusual incidents in 1997; force was used most often in inmate assaults on staff. Extensive tables and figures