Data and disciplinary records show New York state correction officers rarely lose their jobs as a result of abusing the incarcerated, which former inmates say can create an environment that doesn’t allow them to speak out, causing tensions to rise inside.

In 2025, there were 80 officers that received Notices of Discipline (NOD) related to substantiated cases of abuse of inmates, but only four were terminated, according to data provided by the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. In a statement provided to Spectrum News 1 by DOCCS, they said this has to do with the union agreement with the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.  

“The Department is bound by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement with the NYSCOPBA as it relates to the termination of its members. This is an independent arbitration process not within the control of the Department in terms of the timeline or the disciplinary determination,” the statement said. 

For the last 10 years, 413 NODs were given to officers for abuse of inmates and only 32 were terminated, according to data obtained by Spectrum News through a Freedom of Information request.

The union agreement, which expired in March, holds that if evidence through the arbitration agreement proves misconduct, DOCCS will seek to discipline the employee under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, said Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the department.

In a statement to Spectrum News, Mailey said the number of assaults on staff and assaults on inmates decreased, exceeding their expectations for 2025. 

“Last year, as a result of [Commissioner Daniel Martuscello]’s violence reduction goals, assaults on staff decreased by 14% and assaults on incarcerated individuals decreased by 11%. Excessive force allegations also dropped by 42%. To build on this progress, the Department has set more aggressive violence reduction goals, and will continue to leverage de-escalation skills, expand progressive programs and support family communication and reunification,” the statement said. 

The impact on those numbers of last year’s 21-day-long illegal strike by correction officers and the subsequent deployment of National Guard troops, and who still are working inside, isn’t known. 

Cliff Ryan Jr., who was incarcerated for about 12 years, said while the grievance process for filing complaints varies by facility, he said the only way he could get anyone to investigate the incidents of abuse on inmates was by filing lawsuits in court. 

“It’s an oppressive environment. In the facilities that I was residing in, it had that [environment], so I had to figure out ways to address it outside of the system, and filing complaints with the courts was the only way,” Ryan said.  

His first complaint was came after an alleged assault by correction officers while he was incarcerated by Mohawk Correctional Facility. 

“I had to go to the attorney general to complain about it and they noticed something but really, I was just saying, ‘Hey, we’re being assaulted in here. Can somebody come and investigate?” ’ Ryan said.  

When correction officers started their strike last winter alleging unsafe working conditions, state officials called in the National Guard to assist with prison security. Ryan, who was incarcerated at the time, said the tensions eased. 

“The military deals with things differently, and the treatment shifted a bit,” he said.  

DOCCS said assaults on staff decreased in 2025. According to data from their website in 2024, there were 2,069 assaults on staff and in 2025, there were 1,612, most of which resulted in no injuries. 

In late December, DOCCS issued a memo that narrowed the definitions of assault and harassment in incident reports. That led to criticism from the union, which instead advocated to expand the definitions to include menacing and reckless endangerment. NYSCOPBA said narrowing the definition, assaults and attacks on the officers will not be fully documented, and the reality of what they face every day won’t be reflected in the number of incidents reported. 

“Mark our words: A year from now DOCCS will be touting that the number of assaults has dropped and prisons are much safer when, in reality, it’s because they refused to acknowledge the harsh reality that our members are facing dangerous situations every day – but those dangerous situations won’t be fully tracked under DOCCS’ new definition,” the union said in a statement on Facebook.