Union says female prisoners committed 400 assaults at Logan

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The union that represents state prison workers said Thursday that inmates at the Logan Correctional Center have committed about 400 assaults since the central Illinois lockup was converted to an all-female facility in 2013.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees released documents showing hundreds of charges of assaults over that time period, ranging from spitting to kicking and punching, and said that the situation "volatile, violent and dangerous" for employees. But the Corrections Department countered that not all the charges stuck, not every incident was intentional, and not many were serious.

The penitentiary in Lincoln was converted to an all-women facility in March 2013 when the women's prison in Dwight closed to save money. AFSCME says conditions are crowded and prison-guard posts are understaffed.

At Logan, there are 1,900 inmates in space built to house 1,100.

"The situation at Logan is volatile, violent and dangerous for employees who risk our personal safety every day we serve," Shaun Dawson, a correctional officer and president of Logan's AFSCME local, said in a statement. "There is simply not enough staff to maintain order and safely house and rehabilitate our inmate population."

The reports show assaults were against correctional officers, nurses, other security personnel and fellow prisoners.

Corrections Department spokesman Tom Shaer said AFSCME's conclusion is misleading. The report the union obtained includes charges of assault, not the cases' conclusions. During the period it covers, from the conversion of the prison in March 2013 to November 2014, there were actually 273 assaults, of which only four were what the department considers serious, he said.

In other cases, the actual incident of assault was unintentional or occurred because of extenuating circumstances, Shaer said.

For example, on April 13, 2013, the report indicates an inmate "hit nurse in jaw, ripped shirt." The inmate has a serious mental illness, was in "crisis mode" and was flailing, Shaer said.

To answer a federal lawsuit requiring it to find suitable treatment situations for its mentally ill inmates, the department is adding mental health units and hundreds of clinical staff members.

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Contact John O'Connor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor