New data show a marked decline in prison violence and contraband in New York’s correctional facilities during the first half of 2025, reversing years of upward trends.
According to a report released August 5, inmate-on-staff assaults are down by 10%, inmate-on-inmate assaults have dropped 16%, and contraband incidents have decreased by 19% compared to prior years. If trends hold through the rest of the year, it will mark the first overall decline in assaults since 2021 and the first drop in contraband since 2022.
The New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) credits the shift to two recent changes: the suspension of the HALT Act in understaffed prisons and the April implementation of legal mail scanning, which has reduced drug smuggling through documents disguised as legal correspondence.
“For years now we have sounded the alarm on escalating prison violence and increased drugs and weapons making their way into the hands of inmates,” said NYSCOPBA President Chris Summers. “Now, with HALT suspended or restricted in many facilities, and DOCCS finally implementing a scanning system… we are seeing results we predicted would occur years ago.”
The HALT Act, implemented in 2022, limited the use of solitary confinement and was blamed by the union for a surge in prison violence. NYSCOPBA has repeatedly called for its repeal or revision.
Summers urged lawmakers to take note of the results and collaborate with frontline corrections staff on future safety reforms.
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