New York State Prison Taken Over By Inmates

Law enforcement and other state authorities have been busy over the last day as one of largest medium security prisons in New York State was placed in lockdown.

According to an announcement from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, along with various news reports, there has been an inmate uprising at Collins Correctional Facility in Collins, New York. Collins Correctional Facility, which is approximately 30 miles south of Buffalo and sits on around 500 acres of land, opened in 1982 and typically houses just under 2,000 inmates.

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According to WIVB-TV, in the early morning hours on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, several inmates got into an incident with correctional officers after what is described as illegal contraband was found on one of the inmates. It's alleged that the contraband included at least two cellphones. During the incident, the D cell block was placed on full lockdown, along with the entire prison going on a heightened state of security. Some inmates barricaded themselves inside some of the dorm units and a few correctional officers received minor injuries.

When prisons in New York State are put on lockdown, all inmates are confined to their cells and they are not allowed to move throughout the facility like they normally would be able to. That includes recreational and other activities.

The facility remains on lockdown and there has been no word from New York State officials when the lockdown would be lifted, or what other incidents have happened that led up to the issues that happened today. While more details are sparse, prison officials did tell the New York Post that everyone is accounted for and safe inside the facility.

These 7 Prisons Are The Most Violent In New York State

New York released a report with the most recent number of violent assaults on inmates in state prisons. There were 134 inmate deaths noted in the report, although it doesn't break down the prisons where each death occurred or who caused them. Here's a look at some of the general violent incidents reported for 2020, which is the most recent data reported by the state. Compared to 10 years ago, inmate assaults have almost doubled. In 2011 there were 666 and in 2020 there were 1,205 reported. These numbers do not include inmate assaults on staff members. Overall, the number of unusual incidents includes things like assaults, deaths, accidents, sexual misconduct, and disruptive behavior. According to the state,

"The number of unusual incidents has increased 132% from 5,980 in 2011 to 13,870 in 2020. These higher incident numbers were largely due to increases in assaults on incarcerated individuals (+81%), assaults on staff (+86%), contraband (+130%), disruptive behavior (+372%), and staff use of weapons (+1,035%)."

In 2020, 1,836 weapons used to cut or stab, including ice picks, razor blades, can lids and shanks were discovered in state prisons around New York.

Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young