Advocates are calling for better conditions for Nassau County jail inmates after a correction officer says he was attacked at the East Meadow facility.

Advocates say conditions at the county jail are unacceptable. They listed a number of concerns at an Elmont forum Thursday night. They say there's a lack of respect and rights for inmates, flaws in the inmate grievance system and a lack of transparency on the part of jail administrators.

The county's correction officers union says more needs to be done to protect them against violent inmates. The association says last week's unprovoked attack of an officer inside the county jail proves it.

MORE: Correction officer says he was viciously beaten by Nassau jail inmate 

In a statement, Nassau COBA said in part: "This sends a very dangerous message to other violent inmates at the jail that their crimes committed behind bars won't be treated as seriously as their crimes committed on the street. We hope the inmate advocates would agree that everyone deserves to be safe in our jail facility, no matter which side of the bars they're on, including our members."

News 12 did not hear back from County Executive Laura Curran's office for comment.