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Schenectady legislators press state to amend HALT Act after jail staff cite surge in assaults
Summary
After superintendent testimony that assaults in the county jail have risen sharply since the HALT Act took effect, the Schenectady County Committee on Codes, Judiciary and Consumer Affairs voted to send a resolution to the full legislature asking the state to consider amendments to the law.
The Schenectady County Committee on Codes, Judiciary and Consumer Affairs voted June 10 to forward a local resolution asking the state legislature to amend the HALT Act, the law that restricts certain uses of segregation in New York correctional facilities.
The committee advanced CJCA 2 after Schenectady County Sheriff’s Superintendent Ron Walsh and Brian McDonald, state political and legislative director for AFSCME, described a rise in violence in county custody and urged changes that would give local jails additional, narrowly defined tools to respond to violent incidents while preserving the law’s rehabilitative goals.
The resolution asks the state legislature to consider narrow amendments that county officials say would allow a short, investigatory cooling-off period and limited administrative segregation for people who pose an immediate threat to others. “According to the most recent data that, we have veil, Schenectady County Correctional Facility has seen an increase of…
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