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History
- Referred to crime victims, crime and correction
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Authorizes a study by the department of corrections and community supervision pertaining to the treatment of aging prison populations
In Senate Committee · Crime Victims, Crime And Correction · Sponsor Latoya Joyner
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act authorizing a study by the New York state department of corrections and community supervision to study the treatment of aging prison populations and make recommendations for ensuring humane treatment of such populations
Summary of provisions
This legislation specifically authorizes the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to undertake a study of the treatment, conditions and prevalence of aging prison populations and issue findings pertaining to such populations. The study shall include an analysis of; factors contributing to the growth in the number of elderly prisoners, the extent to which elderly prisoners are being provided with adequate housing and medical care, the provision of specialized training of corrections officers, and the assigning oversight of older inmates to a specific official within each correctional facility. The Department shall issue its report within one year of the effective date of this law.
Justification
While the inmate population in New York has decreased dramatically in recent years through the advent of determinate sentencing, reforms to Rockefeller Drug Laws, increased use of alternatives to incarceration and expanded eligibility of shock incarceration, the population of inmates left behind in prison is aging rapidly.
Read the full memo (630 words)
At the end of 1992, we had a population of 61,376 inmates, 2,461, or 4%, of whom were elderly.
By the end of 2006, we had a population of 63,304 inmates, but the number of elderly inmates increased disproportionately to 6,945, or 11% of the total inmate population.
On May 1, 2015, we had a population that had decreased to 52,136 inmates and yet the number of elderly inmates was 9,926, or 17% of the inmate population.
The trend is clear. Under our current sentencing policies and parole board practices, the elderly inmate population will continue to grow. Unless we provide new release mechanisms to reduce the number of inmates who are too old, frail or infirm to pose a risk to safety, the alternative is to plan for resources to meet the needs of a growing elderly population behind bars. In 2011, $33 million was spent to add 38 hospice beds to serve dying inmates placed in the Regional Medical Unit (RMU) at Walsh Medical Center located within the confines of Mohawk Correctional Facility in Oneida County. A Unit for the Cognitively Impaired located in Fishkill Correctional Facility's RMU utilizes professional caregivers to provide services to incarcerated individuals living with dementia. The average cost per bed at this unit is $93,000 - more than double the $41,000 per bed in the general prison population. With 9,300 inmates elderly inmates currently, more is needed than just these two specialized units.
The issue of aging people in prison is arguably a matter of economic urgency, a public health crisis, a violation of human rights or a reflection of the critical shortcomings of our criminal justice system, depending on the eyes of the beholder. All perspectives should agree, however, that the prison system, half of which was built more than a century ago, is not equipped to handle an increasingly aging population. With the rapid growth in the number of older prisoners being retained in prison it is essential for policymakers to fully understand how best to address the needs of a changing prison population.
Accordingly, any serious and sustainable attempt to resolve this crisis requires a multifaceted approach and cross-disciplinary discussion among experts. This legislation begins that process by requiring the Department to conduct a study of the challenges posed by the aging prison population, including a review of existing and necessary resources, and provide a report of its findings and its plans to the legislature one year after the effective date of this bill.
Legislative history of bill
This is a new bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.