Number Of Assaults By Inmates Soars In DC
Attacks by D.C. Jail inmates on officers and other prisoners more than doubled between 2007 and 2008, according to the Department of Corrections. Reported by the Washington Examiner.
Inmate assaults on jail staff soared from 68 in fiscal 2007 to 108 in 2008, the department said Tuesday. Six of the 2008 assaults resulted in serious or severe injury, roughly the same as the seven attacks that caused injury the year before. The number of inmate-on-inmate attacks that were reported by jail officials jumped ninefold, from five in 2007 to 45 in 2008.
The Corrections Department attributes the drastic increases to more diligent reporting of incidents at the jail, rather than a spike in violent behavior. But the union that represents jail guards said inmates lash out without fear of repercussion. “The numbers are not going to go down until there’s a reasonable expectation of accountability of one’s action,” said John Rosser, vice chairman of the D.C. corrections officers union. “Telling an inmate ‘I’m going to prosecute’ is like telling a masochist ‘Keep acting like that and I’m going to beat you.’ ”
The largest contributor to the 2008 spike was “nonviolent cases where body fluids and other liquids were thrown,” the department explained. “If I were to punch you in the face as opposed to throwing feces laced with hepatitis at you, which would you prefer?” Rosser asked. “It cracks me up that they call these assaults nonviolent” …
D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, chairman of the public safety committee, said the figures reflecting increased numbers of jail assaults could be the result of better reporting, as the Corrections Department said. But “violence in the jail is a serious matter … and the question is whether these assaults are being prosecuted vigorously.” He said he planned more information from jail officials.
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