***Media Advisory for Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018***
*Planning purposes only*
COURT OFFICERS, ELECTED OFFICIALS WARN STATE COURTS ARE IN CRISIS; ‘READY TO EXPLODE’
Officers cite staffing shortages, security lapses, weapons smuggling; demand the Office of Court Administration, Chief Judge DiFiore and Gov. Cuomo step up and make courthouses safe for everyone!!!
WHO: Patrick Cullen, president, New York State Supreme Court Officers Association (NYSSCOA); Dennis Quirk, president, New York State Court Officers Association (NYSCOA); State Sens. Diane Savino and Marty Golden, hundreds of court officers and union officials
WHAT: A press conference and rally detailing a crisis in the courts, including severe staffing shortages, security lapses, efforts to smuggle deadly weapons into court buildings and an unfinished $35 million training academy. Speakers will demand that Gov. Cuomo and the Office of Court Administration put more resources into security before it’s too late – and before the “Raise the Age” law takes effect in October and overwhelms the Family Court system.
WHERE: Brooklyn State Supreme Court Building. 320 Jay Street, Downtown Brooklyn.
WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018. 1 p.m.
WHY: Our courts are in crisis – and the safety of court officers, jurors and the public are at risk. Court officer levels are down nearly 33% in 10 years; courtrooms that typically had four officers, now have two; OCA has hired judges and lawyers, but not court officers, and a $35 million training academy budgeted 10 years ago is unfinished. Understaffing creates dangerous conditions in courtrooms and courthouse entrances. Violence is common; 60 officers are on injury leave. There have been nine courthouse shootings across the country in the last five years – two in the last three months. New York court officers confiscated a hand grenade in June and dozens of knives, meat axes, pipes and pistols in a four-week period at just one courthouse in Queens.
GREAT VISUALS: Posters of confiscated weapons. Injured officers willing to be interviewed about their experiences.