With the Collins Correctional Facility being placed on lockdown, the union representing the state officers are issuing “thoughts and prayers to all staff involved in another example of the epidemic of violence in New York prisons.”

That statement was on the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association this afternoon. The lockdown comes only weeks after the union called on the New York state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to take immediate action to address the recent rash of incidents of staff becoming ill, including one incident locally, after coming into contact with inmates who have apparently overdosed on drugs, as well as the amount of contraband that are still getting into the hands of inmates.

Some media outlets say the incident in Collins is tied to staffing levels, including the Times Union in Albany.

In the first month of this year, there have been several incidents of inmate overdoses and staff developing significant health symptoms after having contact with inmates, the union reported. These incidents are taking place across the state and close to home.

On Jan. 23, four officers were injured and exposed to an unknown substance at Lakeview Correctional Facility near Brocton after a combative inmate attacked them as they entered his cell when he covered the cell door window and refused to respond to orders. The officers were injured when they opened his cell door, and he charged at them. They grabbed him in a body hold and forced him to the floor where he remained combative.

On the floor, the inmate bit one officer’s finger, breaking the skin.

Once officers were able to get handcuffs on the inmate, he became compliant and was escorted to a holding cell to be evaluated. Beside the injuries the four officers sustained in the attack, they also developed shortness of breath, tightness in their chests, elevated blood pressure and fatigue. They were transported to Westfield Hospital and treated and released and did not return to duty.

“The concern with the alarming number of incidents occurring coupled with the fact that hazmat teams and law enforcement officials have been unable to identify the substances responsible for these exposures underscores the need for improved drug detection methods within the facilities and enhanced safety protocols. Two inmates needed to receive multiple doses to Narcan, and an AED was utilized and CPR performed to revive both men after apparent drug overdoses at Marcy Correctional Facility this week,” said Chris Summers, NYSCOPBA president. “It is clear, with the number of incidents of unresponsive inmates in prisons across the state, dangerous drugs like synthetic marijuana (K2) and Fentanyl are still getting into the prisons at an alarming rate. Contraband seized in 2024 numbered 4,739, a fifty five percent increase from 2022, despite having a secure vendor program that was supposed to reduce drugs and weapons from getting into the facility. That makes it extremely dangerous for staff who must interact with inmates daily and immediately respond to medical emergencies with no knowledge of the type of drugs they are encountering.”

Collins Correctional Facility is a medium security level facility for males, according to the state web site.