Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) issued a statement July 28 on the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) decision to give convicts free phone calls within the state’s prison system. Starting on August 1, all calls, whether from facility phones or tablets, will be completely free, with no per-minute fees to inmates. Before this policy change, inmates received three free calls per week, each up to 15 minutes. After that, they were charged approximately 2.4¢ per minute.
Over the last year, many New Yorkers have raised concerns over the Majority’s misplaced priorities on the issue of public safety. Earlier this year, Gov. Hochul fired over 2,000 correctional officers for speaking out against poor working conditions and staffing issues. Shortly after, DOCCS issued a memo to allow certain prisoners with up to 110 days left on their sentence to be considered for early release.
Hawley believes this new policy is yet another example of Gov. Hochul and DOCCS’s backward criminal justice policies and inability to provide basic public safety for New Yorkers.
“Instead of those who have been convicted of serious crimes serving their time, Gov. Hochul and her friends at DOCCS seem more concerned with turning our state prisons into five-star resorts for criminals,” said Hawley. “This decision is nothing short of a slap in the face to victims and their families.
There is no reason why taxpayers should be footing inmates’ phone bills. It sends a dangerous message that consequences no longer matter and that those who break the law will be rewarded, not held accountable. New Yorkers deserve safer streets, not policies that coddle criminals at their expense.”
Provided information
