Chicago, Illinois – Statistical data has now confirmed assaults on correction officers in Illinois prisons
housing youths continue to rise. There were 541 assaults on correction workers in 2015. and this year 819 are projected. In August 2017, there were 10.5 assaults on staff reported per 100 youth. More than half of the staff assaults at state prisons involved inmates throwing a “liquid substance” at staff. Since 2000, the department has averaged about 1,282 staff injuries per year. That number dropped to 907 in the 2017 fiscal year that ended in June.
Inspite confirmed data, the Illinois Department of Corrections is reclassifying violent inmates to lower security levels to save money. This is because prisons with lower security levels have lower staffing levels and cost less to operate. Obviously little attention is paid to the human cost of increasing violence against staff.
