Frisk completed at Collins Correctional Facility

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The frisk of Collins Correctional Facility was completed on Friday, according to The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).

The facility had been placed on lockdown following a Wednesday morning incident. A union spokesperson told WIVB News 4 that some of those imprisoned barricaded themselves inside three separate dorms. No officers or staffers were inside at the time.

According to the DOCCS, 23 weapons were recovered as a result of the frisk and there were two minor uses of force that resulted in no injuries or assaults.

The lockdown came after a prisoner was found attempting to discard contraband. There was use of force, which resulted in the recovery of two cellphones. Three officers suffered minor injuries when subduing an inmate, according to a union representing the correctional officers. The officers returned to duty and no prisoners were hurt.

The lockdown was for “the safety and security of the staff and incarcerated population,” the DOCCS said. Nearby prisons provided assistance to Collins Correctional Facility.

State Senator George Borrello said Wednesday in a statement that Acting DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello ordered prison superintendents to treat 70 percent staffing capacity as full capacity with the HALT Act, which sets limits on how long inmates spend in solitary confinement, putting workers in danger. The union agreed with Borrello’s statements.

“There have been a couple of assaults at Collins in the last couple months. Obviously it’s indicative of the climate. Statewide inmate staff violence is at record levels for the last three years,” said James Miller, the spokesperson for the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association. “We continue to set single season records, as well as inmate violence. Some of the factors that go into it is the HALT Act having no disciplinary system set up to deter inmates from attacking staff. Along with staffing, we are down over 2,100 correctional officers and sergeants.”

Jerome Wright, a co-director of a prisoner rights group who was incarcerated for over 30 years,  said New York prisons are a powder keg and called for better treatment of incarcerated people, including reduced use of solitary confinement.

During a lockdown, all inmates are confined to their cells and their movements are significantly restricted. The DOCCS said that the facility will “begin the reopening process in a slow and controlled manner with visitation.”

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