* AFSCME has been making a huge deal out of just about every incident of prison violence in order to convince people that closing Tamms and other facilities is a very unwise decision.

But the Department of Corrections has released data that seems to show there isn’t much of a problem…

[Stacey Solano, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections] said that the data that was supplied “clearly shows that there is no statistical correlation between staffing levels, (inmate) population or the closure and assault levels.”

Charts released by the Department of Corrections to the BND showed that inmate assaults on prison staff decreased at two of the state’s three maximum security lockups, the Pontiac and Stateville correctional centers. Pontiac dropped slightly from 108 such assaults in fiscal year 2011 to 98 in 2012 that ended July 1. And Stateville dropped from 95 to 57 during this same time.

At the maximum security Menard Correctional Center, the state’s largest prison, assaults increased over these same two years, rising from 21 to 36. The figures for Menard are lower overall because, since fiscal year 2008, the facility has spent most of the year on lockdown. In 2011, the prison was on lockdown for 235 days, compared to 13 for Pontiac and 75 for Stateville. No reason was given for the high number of lockdown days at Menard. […]

Overall, for the last three complete fiscal years, inmates assaults on prison employees throughout the entire prison system remained fairly steady. There were 420 in 2010, 502 in 2011 and 444 in 2012.

The only thing I’d say is that the number don’t include any incidents from July.

Also, if AFSMCE has a response I’ll be more than happy to publish it.

*** UPDATE 1 *** From AFSCME via e-mail…

Attached and below is data on staff and inmate assaults provided to the union by IDOC. We released this information at our July 19 hearing on prison safety at the Capitol and it was widely reported.

The chart…

More from the AFSCME e-mail…

We had requested FY 2012 data also but the administration claimed it was not available. Readers can decide for themselves if they believe the administration manipulated the subsequent release of that data. (Prison employees also believe these figures understate the human victims of violence behind bars, as the numbers refer to “incidents,” not individuals harmed. In other words, an attack in which an inmate harmed three employees is counted as one.)

In any case, the five-year trend of rising violence against employees and among inmates is clear.

What the administration’s new figures discount is the first-hand, real-life experience of prison employees on the front lines – the men and women who put on the uniform and walk through the prison gates every day. They say that conditions are increasingly volatile and chaotic due to overcrowding, lack of staff, reclassification and transfer of inmates, and other Quinn Administration policies. The testimony given at the July 19 state Capitol hearing showed that in a personal and palpable way. To discount and seek to undermine the credibility of those who serve is deeply disrespectful of the risks they face and the sacrifices they make simply by going to work each day.

With respect to lockdowns, our members have observed on an anecdotal basis the same decline the administration’s figures reflect. But those fewer lockdowns appear to be part of a systematic effort by the Quinn Administration to cut the utilization of such security measures—we believe in order to artificially drive down costs without regard to safety and operational needs. When a facility is locked down (or shaken down for contraband such as weapons), all operations take longer and more intensive staff time is required to conduct meals, count inmates, search cells etc. That leads to increased overtime costs for staff. It has been apparent to our members for some time that lockdowns and shakedowns are being curtailed not because they are not needed but because the Quinn Administration is cutting corners to reduce costs.

Finally, to the administration’s lack of credibility on corrections matters, see the following chart on overcrowding we also issued at the July 19 Capitol forum. These are the true overcrowding statistics as most recently reported to the General Assembly by IDOC – not the misleading “operation capacity” category the Quinn Administration invented to mask the chaotic conditions it has allowed to fester in state prisons where inmates are now housed in hallways, basements, gymnasiums and closets because there is nowhere else to put them.

Click the pic for a larger image…

*** UPDATE 2 *** The Quinn administration responds to AFSCME’s contention that “an attack in which an inmate harmed three employees is counted as one”…

Each assault is counted individually during an incident. So when prison employees indicate they believe the figures understate violence— and say an inmate who harms three employees is counted as one—that’s not true. It is counted as three.