A total of 163 assaults were documented within Alabama’s prisons during the month of April, according to a new report.
That’s a slight uptick when compared to the previous month. More generally, instances of prison violence have been on a downward trajectory over the past year.
The number of assaults within Alabama prisons during April represented a more than 7% increase over March, and a 33% increase over February.
When compared to April of 2023, however, prison assaults were down by more than 9%, with total prison assaults this current fiscal year down by more than 12% when compared to the same period in 2023.
Disciplinary actions were down in April when compared to March, with 109 actions documented during April compared to 122 in March. When compared to April of 2023, however, actions in April of this year were up by 24%.
Crowded population
Alabama’s in-house prison population was at 20,445 in April, a slight uptick over the 20,404 in March, and a modest increase over the 19,898 in April of 2023.
Alabama’s high rate of prison violence has largely been attributed to a crowded prison population, which is roughly 7,000 in inmates over design capacity, and a shortage of prison staff, with the current vacancy rate for the Alabama Department of Corrections sitting at nearly 60%.
Regarding prison overcrowding, the relatively low rate at which the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Parole has granted parole to eligible inmates has been named as a contributing factor by some, including Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, as well as plaintiffs in an ongoing suit against the state regarding its prison labor program.
On both of those fronts, however, the state has made progress.
In recent months, the Parole Board’s parole grant rate has increased dramatically, and stood at more than 19% as of March, a significant increase over the average rate in 2023 of just 8%.
Pressure
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the aforementioned suit against the state have argued that mounting legal pressure and scrutiny on the Parole Board has led to the increased rates. Alabama Daily News asked a spokesperson for the Board on Friday, but as of Monday had not heard a response.
Staffing at ADOC has also seen improvement, with the department’s vacancy rate decreasing by 2.4 percentage points between January and March per a court filing earlier this month.
While the department still remains more than 2,000 officers short, a recent pay increase that brought up officer pay to at least $51,727 has increased the number of applications for the department, ADOC Commissioner John Hamm recently told ADN.
Alabama lawmakers held a hearing on prison violence last December, during which family members and loved ones of incarcerated Alabamians testified to the violent conditions within Alabama’s prisons.
From that hearing, lawmakers quickly filed and passed Senate Bill 322, which went into effect earlier this month and establishes 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 families and loved ones of incarcerated Alabamians encouraged to attend.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alexander Willis and originally published by Alabama Daily News. It is reprinted with permission.
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