I am seeking support for our Ulster County Correctional Officers. My husband has been an Officer since 2003 with the Ulster County Sheriff's Department & last week he was the 4th Officer that I personally know of to be put on leave due to health issues. Two of the Officers were taken directly from work straight to the hospital. Our Officers are being overworked, if they don't volunteer for overtime they are then being mandated to stay & work. These Officers are being made to work up to 16 hours a day, some Officers are doing this between 3-5 days out of their "normal" schedule with some even going in on 1 of their 2 days off. Please note that without even counting this situation, Correctional Officer's life expectancy is only 59 compared to a national average of 75.

Also note that Correctional Officer's job related stress is shown to manifest in many physical illnesses including hypertension, ulcers & heart attacks with heart disease being 50% higher in Correctional Officers that the national average. Looking over many articles I also found that alcoholism & substance abuse rates are higher as well although I could not find #'s to back this yet. PTSD is yet another concern as 53-59% suffer from some degree of PTSD while 39% suffer full PTSD. The following link I found regarding  Correctional Officers is an extremely interesting read.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/armorupnow.org/2018/05/21/ptsd-depression-suicide-divorce-are-highest-among-correctional-officers/amp/

Not only are these Officers putting their health at risk but they also put huge strains on any relationships they have. Divorce rates are 39% higher & relationships with their children becomes extremely challenged & sometimes almost non-existent. Ulster County says they are all about family but what about our Officer's families?

As the wife of a Correctional Officer I am now fearing for not just my husband but all of his coworkers & their families. These Officers are overworking themselves to the point of exhaustion & are stuck in a housing unit with anywhere from 1 (your 1 on 1 suicide watches) up to 40+ inmates. Our Officers do NOT get your normal lunch break or the normal two 15 minute breaks. These inmates are no longer behind bars & are in open areas with 1 Officer. If there is an issue they need to call for help, if able to, then wait till other Officers arrive. Normally response time is great BUT now add the fact that they are doing back to back shifts sometime days in a row, week after week & I'm pretty sure that response time isn't going to be like it is supposed to be. These inmates all see what's going on & eventually will use this to their benefit. We as a community need to make sure this NEVER happens. 

I'd also like to mention that as of this moment our Officers have been working with NO CONTRACT for over 1 year with no end in sight. I've been told by higherups within the Ulster County Sheriff's department that we need to start calling our Legislators because part of the hold up with getting any help lies with our Ulster County Politician's. In my 1st call I was advised that at one of the committee meeting for law enforcement & public safety that it was mentioned how they can't do much due to the Union member turnover rates. Maybe that was true at one point but as of now the members have been consistent for 4 months. 

I'm asking anyone & everyone to please call our Legislators, we need to make a lot of noise.  I'd also like to remind those that are all for defunding the law enforcement agencies & for those who may have a loved one as an inmate that if our Officers are so overworked it not only affects their health & stress levels but it will also end up affect your loved ones. These Officers are trying the best that they can to making sure that the inmates, somebody's loved one, are getting what the need & watching over them to make sure nothing bad happens to them. If they are overtired from being overworked they aren't going to be as fast at reacting if a problem does arise, so now it also becomes a huge issue of safety not only for our Officers but also for the inmates & the medical staff that is there to provide the inmates with any beoming medical care that they need. We as a community need to fight for our Officer's. The County needs to work towards settling the expired contract for these men & women. Officer's The Sheriff needs to figure out solutions to reduce the mandatory overtime issues. I cannot express how important it is that we start call our Legislators our men & women need our help. 

https://legislature.ulstercountyny.gov/legislature/legislative-members

Here are the Ulster County Legislators that are in the Committee for Law Enforcement & Public Safety 

District 3 - Dean Fabianio (845) 246-2067 OR (845) 389-5201 

District 10 - Mary Beth Maio (845) 546-7878

District 13- Kenneth Ronk Jr. (845)728-3276

District 15 - John Gavaris (914)388-3665

District 18 - Heidi Haynes (845)224-1806

District 20 - Eve Walter (845)340-3900

District 22 - John Parete (845)332-5438

District 23 - Jonathan Heppner (845)594-3141