{"id":10051,"date":"2013-07-26T14:16:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-26T18:16:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=10051"},"modified":"2013-07-26T16:10:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-26T20:10:09","slug":"ny-proposes-closing-two-north-country-prisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2013\/07\/26\/ny-proposes-closing-two-north-country-prisons\/","title":{"rendered":"NY proposes closing two North Country prisons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"correctional_375b\"<\/a>State officials today released a plan to close four state correctional facilities in New York, including a prison in Chateaugay in Franklin County and a prison in Wilton in Saratoga County.<\/p>\n

More than 430 jobs in the North Country region could be affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very surprised and disappointed to learn today of plans to
\nclose the Chateaugay Correctional Facility,\u201d said Senator Betty Little, in a statement released shortly after 4pm Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy concern is for the correctional officers who would be affected and
\ntheir families.\u00a0 Without a doubt, the closing of a facility is a financial
\nblow to them and the community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The plan is sure to face significant opposition from NYSCOPBA, the prison guard union.\u00a0 The Cuomo administration said in a statement that the cutbacks would save taxpayers $30 million a year.<\/p>\n

“There has been an overall decline in the inmate population largely due to a 15% decrease in the state crime rate over the past 10 years, a 13% reduction in the number of violent crimes, such as homicide and assault and a dramatic reduction in the number of drug offenders,” according to DOCS officials.<\/p>\n

“Since 1999, the prison population in New York has declined by almost 24%, from a high of 71,600 to approximately 54,600 incarcerated today.”<\/p>\n

These proposed cutbacks follow closure of two state facilities in the Adirondacks over the last five years.<\/p>\n

NCPR will have more on this story Monday morning during the 8 o’clock Hour on Monday.<\/p>\n

Here’s the full statement from New York state Sen. Betty Little:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very surprised and disappointed to learn today of plans to
\nclose the Chateaugay Correctional Facility,\u201d said Senator Betty Little.
\n\u201cMy concern is for the correctional officers who would be affected and
\ntheir families.\u00a0 Without a doubt, the closing of a facility is a financial
\nblow to them and the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working on gaining more details and what can be done to prevent
\nthe closure.\u00a0 There are a lot of factors to look at including the security
\nand safety of the system.\u00a0 Also, the state has to weigh the financial
\nimpact on the community and the potential for reuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther regions of the state not only have a better capacity to absorb
\nthe economic impact of a closure, but the real estate is of much higher
\nvalue. Camp Gabriels, abandoned in 2009, still sits mothballed.\u00a0 And the
\n27-acre Lyon Mountain property just sold at auction to the lone bidder for
\nthe asking price of $140,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here’s the full statement from NYSDOCCS:<\/p>\n

\n
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision today announced plans to continue to reform the state\u2019s prison system that will save taxpayers over $30 million annually following a substantial reduction in the state crime rate and drug offenses which has caused a shrinking inmate population and less of need to keep more prisons open. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Under the reforms, four State correctional facilities will be closed in one year on July 26, 2014, which will allow for a gradual transition, providing affected employees with more options for positions within the Department and other agencies.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
There has been an overall decline in the inmate population largely due to a 15% decrease in the state crime rate over the past 10 years, a 13% reduction in the number of violent crimes, such as homicide and assault and a dramatic reduction in the number of drug offenders. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Since 1999, the prison population in New York has declined by almost 24%, from a high of 71,600 to approximately 54,600 incarcerated today. At the end of 1996, there were 24,085 drug offenders in custody. By comparison, on December 31, 2012, that number reached a new low of 7,053, which represents a reduction of 71%.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This is the lowest number of drug offenders since 1986, a majority of whom were serving their sentences in medium security facilities and Shock Incarceration Programs.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cIn response to a reduced crime rate that has shrunk our inmate population, we are continuing to right size the state\u2019s costly prison system and saving taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually. This reform plan was made with careful consideration and detailed analysis to ensure we are not impacting the safety of each facility\u2019s employees and the public,\u201d Acting Commissioner Anthony J. Annucci said.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cOver the next twelve months, we will have the beds available in the system to transfer those inmates from the four facilities and not impact the safety of staff, the inmate population, or the public. No inmates will be released early due to the closing of a facility, and we will not have to seek any temporary, double bunking variances from the State Commission of Correction. In fact, we have even reduced the number of double cells in our maximum security facilities by 337 this year,\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The State\u2019s closure plan includes one minimum security facility: Monterey Shock (Schuyler County), and three medium security facilities: Butler (Wayne County), Chateaugay (Franklin County) and Mt. McGregor (Saratoga County).\u00a0\u00a0The dramatic reduction in drug offenders has resulted in shrinking populations at these prisons.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A number of years ago a large portion of the Shock Incarceration population was comprised of drug offenders.\u00a0 Monterey was the Department\u2019s first Shock facility. At one time both Chateaugay and Butler were used as alcohol and substance abuse treatment facilities to provide a special program for addicted offenders. Mt. McGregor was also once used to house a significant number of drug offenders. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now however, with the changing demographics of the inmate population and the steep decline in imprisoned drug offenders, these facilities no longer fulfill the same Department need they once did.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
The closure plan proposes preven<\/span>ting layoffs by transitioning employees to other facilities.\u00a0 Since most of the prisons slated for closure have other correctional facilities relatively nearby, employees will be transferred to those facilities.\u00a0 In some cases, employees will actually be able to move closer to home.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For those with geographic restrictions, the state will work with the Department of Civil Service to facilitate employment opportunities in other agencies.\u00a0 The one-year advance notification will allow for a gradual transition and more options for affected employees as other funded positions within the <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Department become vacant during the next twelve months. In addition, this efficiency plan calls for a limited number of medium security dormitories, previously closed, to reopen.\u00a0 This will provide further options for employees currently working at the facilities designated for closure.\u00a0 As of July 22, 2013, there were 549 staffed vacancies within the Department\u2019s network of medium security correctional facilities.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State officials today released a plan to close four state correctional facilities in New York, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10051"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10051"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10054,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10051\/revisions\/10054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}