Release #032-98

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958, Dwight Williams (212) 788-2972

MAYOR GIULIANI AND CORRECTION COMMISSIONER KERIK PRESIDE AT GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR 229 CORRECTION RECRUITS

Newly Named First Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Department Take Oath of Office

At a graduation ceremony for 229 probationary correction officers at Brooklyn College, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Department of Correction Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik administered the oath of office to the newly appointed First Deputy Commissioner Gary M. Lanigan and Chief of Department Edward Reilly. Fifteen high-ranking members of the Correction Department were also officially promoted at today's ceremony.

Addressing the new graduates, Mayor Giuliani said, "Today is a great day for you, your families and the entire City of New York. The career you have chosen is tough, demanding and sometimes even thankless. It is the work you do each and every day behind the scenes that makes all the difference. During my years as a prosecutor, I learned first-hand the hard work you perform as a full partner in our criminal justice system. Without the dedication and commitment of our City's correction officers, we could never have turned the City around the way we have. We never could have reduced overall crime by 44 percent citywide.

"Now, more than ever, we need jails that perform at peak efficiency because we are getting more and more criminals off the streets," Mayor Giuliani said. "Over the last four years, there has been a 24 percent increase in our inmate population, yet the jails are safer than they have been in years. The Comprehensive Violence Reduction Program introduced in 1995 has resulted in a 64 percent reduction in the number of violent incidents in the City's jails. This statistic highlights something I have known for many, many years -- New York City has the hardest working and most professional correction officers in the nation."

Correction Commissioner Kerik said, "This graduation brings the total number of new correction officers hired to more than 2,000 since 1995. Today's ceremony symbolizes our commitment to Correction as a full partner in our successful anti-crime strategies. New Yorkers depend upon our correction officers and we have never been disappointed. Thanks to the efforts of Mayor Giuliani the important role that Correction plays in our criminal justice system has been fully recognized. It is because of this recognition that we have been able to achieve the most significant reductions in violence in the jails in recent history."

First Deputy Commissioner Gary M. Lanigan has served as Deputy Commissioner for Administration for the Department of Correction since 1994. Commissioner Lanigan was the Assistant Commissioner for Financial Affairs for the New York City Police Department from 1987 to 1994.

Chief of Department Edward Reilly has been with the Department of Correction since 1972. Prior to his appointment to Chief of Department, Chief Reilly was Bureau Chief for Facilities at Rikers Island.

During today's ceremony, the following promotions also took place:

John Antonelli	Deputy Commissioner for Administration
Sidney W. Head	Bureau Chief for Custody Management
Sheila M. Vaughan	Bureau Chief for Administration
Robert E. Wangenstein	Bureau Chief for Management & Planning
Robert Davoren	Assistant Chief for Division I
William Fraser	Assistant Chief for Division II
Robert Ortiz	Assistant Chief for Inspectional Services & Compliance
Leroy Duncan	Warden, Manhattan Detention Complex
James Psomas	Warden, James A. Thomas Center
Clyton Eastmond	Deputy Warden-In-Command
David Goodman	Deputy Warden-In-Command
Albert C. Thompson, Jr.	Deputy Warden-In-Command
Jane Gibson	Deputy Warden
Leroy Grant	Deputy Warden
Anthony Serra	Deputy Warden

Today's graduates, assigned to ten facilities on Rikers Island, have just completed a rigorous 12 week training program at the Correction Academy in Queens.