MONTGOMERY, Alabama — A total of 163 assaults were recorded in Alabama prisons in April, according to a report. New reports.
This is a slight increase compared to the previous month. More generally, violent incidents in prisons Descending trajectory Over the past year.
The number of violent incidents in Alabama prisons in April increased by more than 7% from a year ago. marchand an increase of 33% February.
In comparison April 2023However, prison assaults fell by more than 9%, and total prison assaults for the current fiscal year fell by more than 12% compared to the same period in 2023.
Disciplinary actions were down in April compared to March, with 109 actions recorded in April compared to 122 in March. However, compared to April 2023, there was a 24% increase in actions in April this year.
Alabama’s prison population was 20,445 in April, up slightly from 20,404 in March and up slightly from April 2023’s figure of 19,898.
The high rate of violence in Alabama prisons is believed to be due in large part to overcrowding, with roughly The capacity exceeds the designed capacity of 7,000 people.due to a shortage of prison staff, Current Vacancy Rate In the Alabama Department of Corrections, the rate is nearly 60%.
Regarding prison overcrowding, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles has been relatively slow to grant parole to eligible inmates, according to Sen. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa, and others. Ongoing litigation Protest against the state over its prison labor program.
But on both fronts, the state has made progress.
In recent months, the Parole Board’s rate of parole approvals has increased dramatically, exceeding 19% as of March – a significant increase from the average rate for 2023 of just 8%.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state argue that legal pressure and increased scrutiny of the parole board led to the fee hike. A spokesperson for the board reached out to The Alabama Daily News on Friday but had not responded as of Monday.
ADOC staffing has also improved, with the department’s vacancy rate dropping to A decrease of 2.4 percentage points Between January and March, according to court filings earlier this month.
The department remains short more than 2,000 officers, but a recent pay increase that raised officers’ salaries to at least $51,727 has led to an increase in applications to the department, ADOC Director John Hamm said. He recently told ADN.
Alabama lawmakers held hearings on prison violence in December during which family members and loved ones of Alabama’s incarcerated people testified about violent conditions in Alabama prisons.
Following that hearing, lawmakers quickly introduced and passed Senate Bill 322, which took effect earlier this month and creates a 15-person team whose sole responsibility is to facilitate communication between inmates and their families.
A second hearing on prison violence is scheduled for July 24, with family members and loved ones of people incarcerated in Alabama encouraged to attend.
