Jail Oversight Body Stalled by New York Governor
by Michael Dean Thompson
The New York State Commission of Correction (SCOC), a uniquely powerful body that is intended to monitor prisons and jails for compliance with state regulations, has only two of the five commissioner’s seats filled, leaving the SCOC unable to meet and vote due to a lack of quorum. Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s failure to steward appointments through the Senate occurs while New York’s prisons and jails are plagued by a culture of violence and torture.
SCOC inspectors are able to visit any correctional facility, review all documentation, including medical records, and query any employee for information. Among the powers granted to the SCOC is the ability to issue subpoenas and obtain state Supreme Court orders. In addition, they can shut down facilities they deem to be unsafe, unsanitary, or out of compliance in some other way. Historically, those powers have been rarely exerted. Due to staffing reductions in the 1990s, SCOC stopped regularly inspecting prisons and problems from its jail inspections can drag on for years without remediation.
Part of the problem might have been that the SCOC commissioners have tended to be former county sheriffs and jail administrators. Likewise, only the first few minutes of meetings are made available to the public, limiting oversight. They also resist releasing full jail inspection reports. During a review of their work by New York Focus, dozens of records release requests were needed to obtain the reports.
The SCOC was one of the criminal justice organizations subjected to reform last year by the state legislature. Among the reforms, the SCOC has been ordered to begin visiting every correctional facility each year. To help it accomplish that, its budget was doubled. A separate bill had called for nine commissioners, the appointment of which would be split between the governor, the state Senate, the state Assembly, and a non-profit organization. However, Gov. Hochul negotiated that she alone would appoint just five commissioners, with Senate confirmation.
The five commissioners will now include a formerly incarcerated person and another person with a public health or prisoner’s rights background. Two slots were already filled, so she only needed to nominate one for a quorum, yet she has failed to do so. Even if she were to do so now, however, it is not clear the Senate, which is embroiled in budget negotiations, would have time to hold confirmation hearings.
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher (D-Brooklyn) said in a statement, “If she is serious about respecting the law and ending the crisis in our prisons and jail, the Governor must fill the SCOC vacancies with reform-minded commissioners who are committed to the health, safety, and dignity of incarcerated people, including one who is formerly incarcerated.”
Source: New York Focus
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