House lawmakers approve bills aimed at improving security within Delaware prisons

After the uprising at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center back in February, which led to the death of a correctional officer, State Representative Steve Smyk from Delaware and lead sponsor of these bills, says this is what pushed him to advocate for these new measures. 

Smyk says the first bill is important because it addresses assault inside of a detention facility if it's someone other than the intended victim.

Smyk tells us "Any other person that was injured that was not the intended victim, there was no way to actually classify them as a victim and seek either retribution or have any type of consequence for their actions."

Beyond that, this bill will make it a felony for an inmate to recklessly injure a correctional officer.

Under state law, these actions must be intentional not simply reckless to be classified as a felony.

We are told that this was was very important for the safety of the individuals that are inside the detention facilities.

The second bill expands the list of felony-level contraband.

"As we get into a new age of electronics and we look at some new tools that could be available to attempt an escape, these are the things that the detention facility must be able to recognize. If they don't have this law at their disposal, then the people that are inside the facility, some of your more diligent crime doers, your medium and high risk offenders are going to use the law at their own advantage," Smyk tells 47 ABC.

Smyk is a 24-year veteran of the Delaware State police. He also comes from a law enforcement family, and many of his friends are correctional officers.

We are told these bills come comes from the individuals that are actually doing the job on the inside.

"When I asked them, what could be done, it took them some time to draft and come up with these ideas, I was the one who was able to make into law," Smyk states.

The correctional officers who put their lives on the line every day hope these bills will actually create consequences for the actions that are made inside the facility.

Smyk believes they will have the full support of the Senate for those bills to continue.