New York Department of Corrections Internal Classification Policy

Policy Regarding Protective Custody and the Safety of Inmates

Policy Analysis: Internal Classification - Recently (1994) an inmate within the New York State Department of Corrections won a multi million-dollar lawsuit against prison officials citing cruel and unusual punishment. The inmate worked as an informant to help officials stop a murder plot planned by gang members. Two years later, he was found guilty of second-degree murder himself and was sent to Sing Sing to serve twenty to life. Despite warnings from both his attorney and the judge that convicted the gang members in the previous case, said prisoner was placed in general population and was forced to live amongst the gang members he helped to put away. Unable to buy his own protection within the institution the inmate was nearly killed in a razor blade attack (Hamblett, 2004).

Department officials were sued by the injured inmate for failure to protect him despite many recommendations from outside sources and his own attempts to gain protection. Policy within the New York Department of Corrections is to randomly assign cells to inmates. According to the commissioner of correctional services, Glenn Goord, "it was prison policy not to inquire into the circumstances of a prisoner's background before assigning a cell" (Hamblett, 2004, par 18). Prison officials cite the reason for this policy to be that the Department does not want staff to be accused of prejudices in cell assignments (Hamblett, Par 18). It is my contention that it is the responsibility of prison officials to protect inmates from harm, including the utilization of a comprehensive classification system to assign living locations within the institution and a process to attain Protective Custody status when appropriate.