ALBANY, N.Y. — The state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision is sharing details on a committee’s proposed revisions to the HALT Act. That’s the policy that limits solitary confinement and became contentious during the statewide corrections officers’ strikes.
The HALT Act limits the use of solitary confinement to 15 straight days. It also bans solitary confinement for anyone younger than 21 or older than 55, along with anyone who’s pregnant or has disabilities. As News10NBC has covered, guards who walked the picket line last February and March said the HALT Act has made prisons more dangerous since it passed in 2022. They said it limits their ability to discipline inmates, while advocates for the HALT Act argue that prolonged solitary confinement is inhumane.
RELATED: Prison guard strike has ended; Over 2,000 guards who remained on strike have been fired
After the strikes, a committee formed to review the HALT Act, made up of representatives from DOCCS, unions representing employees, the Office of Employee Relations, and several other groups. The committee took their recommendations for revisions to the State Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office. Here are the recommendations:
Deter Specific Serious Offenses
DOCCS has experienced situations in which provisions of the HALT Act limited the ability to utilize segregated confinement as a consequence for certain serious offenses, such as sexual harassment, lewd conduct, unhygienic acts (throwing blood, seminal fluid, urine, feces, or the contents of a toilet bowl onto staff), extortion (which contributes to gang violence), riot, and escape attempt. No person should have to endure these acts in their place of work or living space and more must be done to prevent and address this type of behavior. To address these issues, the Committee recommends amending the current law as follows:
Clarify that sexual harassment and lewd conduct constitute behaviors that are eligible for placement in segregated confinement. Add a new offense for conduct that is consistent with aggravated harassment of an employee (unhygienic acts), which is already defined in penal law. Address patterns of extortion in connection with a gang or criminal enterprise by clarifying that such behavior is eligible for segregated confinement. Reduce the subjectivity of standards that have limited the imposition of segregated confinement for participating in a riot, escape, or attempted escape, which will help prevent a potentially very serious incident from occurring.These changes better align the current serious offenses specifically enumerated in correction law with that of similar offenses contained within the penal law.
Ensure the Availability of Protective Custody
Provisions of the HALT Act prohibit placement of individuals in a Special Housing Unit (SHU) for Protective Custody (PC). Although well-intentioned, these provisions restrict the Department’s ability to provide for immediate safety concerns, conduct adequate PC investigations, and make transports to suitable facilities. It has also resulted in the need for more transfers between facilities, which places additional stress on staffing and the incarcerated population. The Committee recommends modifying the law to:
Allow temporary placement in a SHU or Residential Rehabilitation Unit (RRU) for PC for up to three days when there is an unreasonable risk to safety and there is no other suitable alternative housing readily available at the facility and require access to seven hours of out-of-cell time, per the existing requirement in the law.Deter Recidivism in SHU/RRU and General Population
Currently, there are few deterrents for repeat offenses committed in disciplinary housing (SHU/RRU) or non-confinable offenses committed in general population (misconduct that does not qualify for segregated confinement). Members of the Committee agreed that this contributes to significant disorder in both settings as it disrupts critical programming and infringes on the liberty and movement of the broader incarcerated population. The Committee recommends amending the law to:
Grant DOCCS the flexibility, in cases where individuals commit repeat offenses in disciplinary housing, to provide the required four hours of out-of-cell time in a setting (therapeutic programming OR recreation) that appropriately addresses the behavior without disruption to others. Allow placement in SHU or RRU for up to 15 days for recidivist misconduct in general population, defined as no fewer than three occasions within the preceding thirty days, in cases where it has been determined that alternative interventions have failed, and the ongoing misbehavior creates an unreasonable risk to safety or disruption to the operation of the facility.Account for a Fuller Range of Serious Offenses
The Committee agreed certain provisions contained within the correction law limit the effectiveness of segregated confinement as a deterrent to serious antisocial and/or violent behavior. For example, to qualify for segregated confinement, an incarcerated individual must not only have committed an enumerated serious offense, but the Department must also show the act was “so heinous or destructive that placement of the individual in general population housing creates a significant risk of imminent serious physical injury to staff or other incarcerated persons and creates an unreasonable risk to the security of the facility.” Further, the law fails to define “violent felony act.” This prevents several serious offenses that are considered violent felony acts in penal law from being eligible for segregated confinement sanctions, either due to a lack of clarity in the law or due to confusing standards reliant on subjective criteria. The Committee recommends amending the law to:
Provide greater flexibility to allow segregated confinement for committing an enumerated offense OR an act that is “so heinous or destructive” and altering other language to make the law less reliant on subjective standards. Align the internal disciplinary system with the criminal charges in penal law by defining “violent felony act” as behavior consistent with a violent felony offense as defined in penal law.Balance Discipline with Incentives and Programming
Recognizing the need to engage the incarcerated population through positive programming, the Committee took a balanced approach and included recommendations to not only strengthen the disciplinary system, but to also incentivize good behavior and positive programming to preempt conduct that may result in discipline. The Committee is unanimous in its agreement that when these critical reforms are paired with well crafted, tailored, and reasonable incentives, DOCCS facilities will see an increase in pro-social, non-violent behavior amongst the population and increase the safety of facilities for all. The Committee recommends amending existing law to:
Modify existing positive incentive programs that currently have statutory eligibility requirements that preclude a significant portion of the population, regardless of their institutional adjustment, personal growth, accomplishments, and rehabilitation, from being able to access the benefits associated with the programs.Committee proposes revisions to HALT Act, state’s solitary confinement policy WHEC.com.
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