Provides that persons 19, 20 or 21 years old may be housed with older or younger persons within the correction system

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill would amend Correction Law § 500-b(4) to prohibit local jail administrators from housing persons who are 18 years old and younger with persons who are 22 years old or older, but would allow them to house persons who are 19, 20 or 21 years old with either the older or the younger categories of inmates. It also would make a conforming, technical change to Correction Law § 500-b (13), which allows the State Commission of Correction (SCOC) to issue variances to address emergency overcrowding situations in local jails.

Section 2 of the bill contains the effective date.

Existing law

Correction Law § 500-b(4) prohibits a local jail administrator from housing persons who are 16, 17, and 18 years old with persons who are over 18 years old. Correction Law § 500-b(13) creates an exception to this prohibition, by allowing SCOC to issue a variance to allow commingling for short periods of time to address an emergency overcrowding condition, but only when such commingling does not present a danger to the health, safety or welfare of any inmate.

Statement in support

Safety and welfare of inmates, and the overall safety, security and good order of the facility are essential to the proper administration of any correctional facility. Age classification rules that prevent the commingling of certain categories of inmates can play a significant role in furthering these goals. These rules can, however, also lead to unnecessary overcrowding in some sections of a facility, and can create fiscal burdens on counties that are required to board inmates at facilities in other counties, when they have available capacity in another section of their own facility but are barred from using that capacity because of age classification restrictions. This bill would amend certain age classification rules applicable to county correctional facilities in a manner that is consistent with the safety and welfare of inmates,

but will give jail administrators greater flexibility and relieve fiscal burdens on county governments.

A number of county jails outside of New York City are operating in excess of their overall capacity yet have vacant beds due to statutorily defined classification standards that separate inmates in a manner that is not consistent with operational or safety oriented protocals. SCOC reports that there is typically capacity available in a unit used for housing persons who are 16, 17, and 18 years old, but that, under existing law, persons 19 years old and older cannot be placed in those beds - even if the "adult" section of the facility is overcrowded. Under this bill, a jail administrator could not place any adult of any age in the unit with those younger persons, but he or she could place persons who are only slightly older - those who are 19, 20 and 21 years old - in that unit. In many instances, this flexibility will provide the needed "safety valve" that would relieve the need either to board out inmates or build more jail capacity in the county.

For over twenty years SCOC has had the authority to grant temporary waivers of the age classification restrictions in emergency overcrowding situations. It is not aware of any problems or safety concerns that have occurred in instances when younger and older inmates have been commingled pursuant to a waiver of the age classification standards.

Because they are only available on a temporary, short-term basis, however, these emergency waivers are not a viable solution in counties that face chronic overcrowding. Instead, these counties are left with essentially two options.

One option is for the county to board out inmates who would be housed in overcrowded areas of a facility to another county and pay that recipient county over $100 per day per inmate. Based on local jail capacity data compiled by SCOC, an average of approximately 300 inmates are boarded out to other counties on any given day. Boarding out an average of 25 inmates can have an annual cost of approximately $1 million for a county, and several counties outside of New York City regularly board out more than 25 inmates. This places a significant fiscal burden on those counties that are routinely required to board out inmates.

The other option is for the county to build a new or larger facility that would allow it both to accommodate all inmates in that county and to follow the existing classification statutory limitations. But the costs of constructing a new facility can be prohibitive, averaging between $75,000 and $90,000 per bed.

These fiscal burdens, though painful for a county, could perhaps be justified if there truly were no available capacity in a county facility. The reality, however, is that there is often unused space in one portion of a facility, even while another section is overcrowded.

SCOC has convened an informal working group of several county jail· administrators, the Sheriffs Association, the New York State Association of Counties and the Division of the Budget, which is

exploring remedies for the fiscal challenges that strain the operational needs of county jails. This working group has endorsed this proposal as one that is operationally effective and fiscally responsible, while not causing any impact on the safety of inmates confined in local correctional facilities or to overall public safety.

Budget implications

This bill would not have any direct state fiscal impact. However, it would allow county governments to avoid operational and capital construction costs associated with overcrowding at certain county correctional facilities. Additionally, this bill would provide county governments with immediate fiscal relief in a manner that preserves public safety at a time when all levels of New York government are making touch choices to reduce spending and operate within limited available resources.

Legislative history

2009-10: S.6033 - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime & Correction, Governor Program Bill No. 54

Effective date

This bill would take effect immediately, with provisions.