New York State Parole Board

The official list of Parole Board members has now been updated to include the recent appointments by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Currently there are fourteen members and five vacancies:

Parole Board Members

Evans, Andrea W.
Smith, Walter Wm., Jr.
Ferguson, James
Hernandez, Christina
Ludlow, G. Kevin
Elovich, Lisa Beth
Thompson, Sally
Hagler, Michael A.
Ross, Mary
Crangle, Joseph
Brown, Jared
Sharkey, Edward
Coppola, Marc
Evans-Alexander, Ellen

Lawmakers: fix racial disparity on Parole Board

Extract from a NY Daily News article:

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo is taking heat from minority lawmakers for not renewing the term of the lone black male on the state Parole Board.

Henry Lemons, a former deputy chief investigator in the state attorney general's office and longtime Brooklyn prosecutor, was cut loose when his six-year term expired recently.

Members of the Legislature's Black and Latino Caucus have bemoaned the disparity that exists between the board's membership and the general population of state inmates. Records show that 49% of all state prison inmates are black, and of that number, 93% are men.

Lemons' departure means that Chairwoman Andrea Evans is the only black representative out of the 11 current members of the board.

No reason was given for the decision not to reappoint Lemons, who was initially selected by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

"I have spoken to the governor in sharing my displeasure," said Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, a Bronx Democrat and member of the caucus.

Sen. Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat and a former NYPD cop, also spoke of the need for a black man on the board: "It's almost crucial that you have that representation."

Minority lawmakers are said to be particularly upset that four Parole Board members originally appointed by ex-Republican Gov. George Pataki were kept on after their terms expired last year...

For complete article, see:
Lawmakers: fix racial disparity on Parole Board, by Kenneth Lovett (NY Daily News, July 3 2012)

DNA and Reform

Governor Andrew Cuomo's proposal to expand New York State's DNA database by requiring all convicts to submit a sample should be accompanied by other reforms to reduce wrongful convictions.

See:
An Incomplete DNA Deal (New York Times Editorial, 26 March 2012)
DNA and Reform (New York Times Editorial, 24 February 2012)
NYSACDL Opposes DNA plan (New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, February 23rd, 2012)

Governor praises Senate passage of DNA databank expansion

The state Senate has emphatically passed legislation that would expand New York's criminal DNA database.

Senators voted 50-10 on Tuesday to pass the DNA Databank Expansion Bill, which would, if signed into law, require people convicted of all crimes - including misdemeanors - to submit DNA samples to the state's DNA databank. Currently, only someone convicted of a felony, or one of 36 specific misdemeanor charges, is required to submit a DNA sample.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged the Assembly to act quickly to pass the bill, which he called "an important step in protecting New Yorkers and modernizing the state's criminal justice system."

Cuomo's 2012-13 executive budget included a proposal similar to the Senate bill.

Full article:
Gov. praises Senate passage of DNA databank expansion (Adirondack Daily Enterprise, February 1 2012)

Governor Andrew Cuomo made the following statement, released after the vote: "Today the New York State Senate passed the DNA Databank Expansion Bill, an important step in protecting New Yorkers and modernizing the state’s criminal justice system. This critical crime fighting resource embraces technology to help protect the innocent and convict the guilty. I want to thank Senators Golden and Saland for sponsoring this legislation. I call on the Assembly to do the same so I can sign this bill into law immediately."

Related articles:
New York State Set to Add All Convict DNA to Its Database, by John Eligon and Thomas Kaplan (New York Times, March 13, 2012)
Cuomo blesses Senate DNA bill (Capitol Confidential, January 31 2012)
Albany Bill to Expand DNA Database Fuels a Political Fight (New York Times, January 31 2012)
State Senate passes bill to greatly expand New York's DNA database; spotlight shifts to the Assembly (New York Daily News, January 31 2012)
Building a New NY... with you: 2012 State of the State Address, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (January 4 2012)

Changes to Parole Laws Signal Potentially Sweeping Policy Shift

The following extracts from this article by Philip M. Genty, referring to Governor Cuomo's revision, are taken from Building Bridges:

"...In his article [condensed here] Prof. Genty holds that the most significant reform in Gov. Cuomo’s revision was the removal of Section 1. In 1978, the Parole Board announced its guidelines for setting the minimum sentence, which Section 1 gave them authority over. The only two factors specified in these guidelines were the seriousness of the offense and the person's prior criminal history. The guidelines were presented as regulations, which set out a grid for calculating the minimum period of imprisonment, i.e., the period of time a person in prison would be required to serve before becoming eligible for parole release:

(3) To derive the guideline time range, the appropriate cell is located on the parole decision making grid where the offense severity and prior criminal history scores intersect. The offense severity score is located on the vertical axis, the prior criminal history score on the horizontal axis. The cell on the guideline grid where the two scores intersect indicates the suggested time to be served, based on these two major factors.

...No other release guidelines have ever been set forth by the board. In 1980, the Legislature removed the responsibility for setting minimum sentences from the Parole Board and transferred it to the courts. Senator Christopher Mega's memorandum in support of this change described the Parole Board's power to set sentences as "an irrational waste of taxpayer money as well as of criminal justice resources" and observed that "there is nothing on which the Board's decision can be based which was not before the court at the time sentence was imposed…; and most of these factors consist of matters the court is better able to ascertain and evaluate (e.g., seriousness of the offense, mitigating and aggravating factors, etc.). However, despite the Parole Board's loss of the responsibility for setting minimum sentences, Section 259-i(1) of the Executive Law—"Establishment of the Minimum Periods of Imprisonment"—stayed on the books, and the guidelines remained unchanged.

...The 2011 amendments require the board to adopt procedures that incorporate a growing body of social science research about assessing post-release needs and recidivism risks. These procedures will be designed to measure rehabilitation and facilitate better informed parole release decisions. The amended Section 259-c states that the Parole Board shall:

establish written procedures for its use in making parole decisions as required by law. Such written procedures shall incorporate risk and needs principles to measure the rehabilitation of persons appearing before the board, the likelihood of success of such persons upon release, and assist members of the state board of parole in determining which inmates may be released to parole supervision.

...This addition of an explicit requirement that the Parole Board adopt and be guided by procedures that require it to evaluate "rehabilitation" and "the likelihood of success…upon release" signals a critical reform and modernization of parole practices. Such procedures, when promulgated, will rationalize parole decision-making by placing the focus primarily on who the person appearing before the Parole Board is today and on whether that person can succeed in the community after release, rather than—as under the previous "guidelines"—on who the person was many years earlier when she or he committed the crime. This is a shift in policy of potentially sweeping significance."

The Prison Action Network make the following comments about Professor Genty's article:

"We are encouraged by Columbia Law School professor Phillip Genty’s optimistic view of the Governor’s changes to the parole laws, and we certainly hope Parole Commissioners are reading it and being influenced to see it as he does. Through Genty's eyes, the Governor’s changes accomplish much of what the SAFE Parole Act would. However we do not share Prof. Genty’s faith in the Risk and Needs Assessment that is used. Its questions measure the strengths and deficits of the person being interviewed. While this is useful in developing a Transitional Accountability Plan for use during incarceration and after release to parole supervision, how it will influence release decisions remains to be seen."

For full text of the article, see:

Changes to Parole Laws Signal Potentially Sweeping Policy Shift, by Philip M. Genty. (New York Law Journal, September 1 2011)

Cuomo Administration Closing 7 Prisons, 2 in New York City

The Cuomo administration, following through on one of the most contentious cutbacks included in the state budget, said Thursday that it would close seven of New York’s dozens of prisons, including a facility in the Bronx and one on Staten Island.

The prisons to be shut down include three medium-security facilities: Arthur Kill Correctional Facility on Staten Island, Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome and Mid-Orange Correctional Facility in Warwick.

The governor also named four minimum-security prisons to be closed: Fulton Correctional Facility in the Bronx, Camp Georgetown in Madison County, Summit Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility in Schoharie County and Buffalo Correctional Facility.

Full story:

Cuomo Administration Closing 7 Prisons, 2 in New York City (New York Times, June 30 2011)

NY State To Close Seven Prisons, Two In NYC (NY Daily News, June 30 2011)

Prison Facilities Ordered to Close (Wall Street Journal, July 1 2011)

New York State Shuts 7 Prisons in Budget Crunch (Reuters, July 1 2011)

Lawmakers react to news of prison closures (WKTV News, June 30 2011)

Workers await word on prison cuts

"Where will the ax fall? Mid-Orange Correctional Facility in Warwick? The state prison just outside Otisville? The medium-security site near the Ulster County hamlet of Wallkill?

Nearly two months after state lawmakers passed a belt-tightening budget, more than 2,800 prison employees working in this region are awaiting a lingering decision that could upend their lives: Which prisons will Gov. Andrew Cuomo close to eliminate 3,700 prison beds statewide?

Cuomo's spending plan demanded prison space be reduced by that amount — in response to declining inmate numbers — but let the governor decide afterward which of the state's 67 prisons to close... ...

... ...The job uncertainty affects about 2,800 of the region's nearly 5,000 prison employees because the four maximum-security facilities are in no danger of closing.

The state plans to shut only medium- and minimum-security prisons, where inmate numbers have plunged because of lower crime levels and the softening of sentences for low-level drug offenders.

The targeted facilities are expected to close 60 days after employees are informed. State law normally requires that workers get a year's notice, but the budget shortened that period to save money this fiscal year."

Full story:

Workers await word on prison cuts: four maximum-security facilities are in no danger of closing. (Times Herald-Record, April 27 2011)

Building Bridges - March 2011 edition

The March edition of Building Bridges has been issued by the Prison Action Network.

Summaries of Articles:

1. Actions, events, and meetings are listed geographically and chronologically, so you can easily check for those in your area at times you are free. Three legislative advocacy days are listed (under Actions). These are excellent opportunities to get comfortable talking to legislators. If you support the S.A.F.E. Parole Act, you really ought to attend one of them. Winning over legislators will be an important part of our success.

2. Bob Gangi, former Exec. Dir. of C.A. is moving on, not to retire, but to take the position of Senior Policy Advocate at the Urban Justice Center. On Monday, April 4th, he will begin work there on justice related issues like the questionable arrest policies of the NYC Police Department. He looks forward to having contact, professional and/or personal, with many of you in the future.

3. Bronx Community Solutions - Your organization is invited to participate in the Bronx Reentry Community Forum and Resource Fair: “I’m Home ... What’s Next?” on Saturday, May 7, by hosting a resource table, contributing items for door prizes, or by bringing participants or students from your program.

4. Formerly Incarcerated People’s Movement - A gathering of formerly incarcerated persons began efforts to launch a campaign against the New Jim Crow. We marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, met with state legislators, and began organization building. We will be doing the same on the east coast. There were people there from around the country. You can see some video footage on www.YouTube.com/allthingsharlem

5. In Your Face heads to Washington D.C., on foot! - Readers can keep informed about the In Your Face WALK 2 WASHINGTON on the In Your Face Movement FaceBook pages, where you can also read the numerous write-ups they've received.

6. NYS Parole Reform Campaign Report - The latest organizations to sign a letter in support of the SAFE Parole Act are Exodus Transitional Community, National H.I.R.E. Network, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Campaign members helped design a logo for the Campaign's Thousand Kites campaign website, soon to come online.

7. NYS Prisoner Justice Network - Everyone is invited to any of their series of regional and local meetings (listed in the article) and events taking place around the state to inform people in local communities about the statewide network, to share ideas and strategies for challenging and changing New York’s criminal INjustice system, and to encourage people to attend the Legislative Awareness Day for Prisoner Justice on May 3rd in Albany.

8. Parole News- January A1VO statistics show only one release on an initial hearing. A recent FOIL request asking the date and location of Parole Board Release Hearings and the names of the Parole Commissioners who were on each Board produces more questions than answers. Will DOCS and the Division of Parole merge under Cuomo? Read the article by Joel Stashenko in the NY Law Journal, in which he claims Parole Boards would lose authority under Cuomo, posted on rethinkingreentry.blogspot.com

9. Prison Media: Thread News! www.threadnews.org is a digital multimedia magazine available online and free of charge. Their first issue deals with the complexities of prison re-entry, as seen through the eyes of 35 year old recent parolee Manny Borras, a playwright, who must now navigate life on the outside. You can submit your stories for future consideration.

10. Think Outside the Cell: Their upcoming National Symposium on Sept. 24th will bring together national experts and policy makers, as well as hundreds of those who live in the long shadow of prison, whose voices and concerns have rarely been raised on the national stage. The Rev. Al Sharpton, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and CNN journalist Soledad O’Brien will be among them. Anyone with prison in their backgrounds is encouraged to attend. An audience of more than 800 is anticipated.

Parole Boards Would Lose Authority Under Cuomo Plan

Joel Stashenko discusses Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's proposals for parole reform in New York, raising concerns about the control of the parole board and the proposed reduction in the number of authorized parole commissioners from 19 to 13.

Parole Boards Would Lose Authority Under Cuomo Plan (New York Law Journal, March 11 2011)

Traditionally, three commissioners have heard applications for parole.

“... Right now, we don’t anticipate a reduction,” Ms. Glazer said. “I don’t think this will happen. I think the way in which we have been operating so far, with the 13 [commissioners] has permitted us to operate with the three-man boards and I anticipate that will continue.”

If two-member boards were used, a second panel would have to hear any cases in which there is a tie.

Parole commissioners make $101,600 each. The chair of the board makes $120,800.

Middletown attorney Robert N. Isseks, who represents inmates before the parole board, contended that the current commissioners are overworked as it is.

“We feel the more on the panel the better,” Mr. Isseks said in an interview. “The caseload for commissioners now could be up to 100 hearings a day, where the commissioners get the paperwork that day and the hearings are perfunctory and last maybe five to seven minutes, more or less, and the commissioners are only half listening at best because they are looking at the paperwork for the next case.”

Albert O’Connor of the Defenders Association said that smaller parole panels would make release harder for some inmates.

“When you have three members, you have a more diverse panel,” Mr. O’Connor said. “You have an opportunity for a commissioner to persuade a colleague. When you cut that down to two, obviously, it’s unlikelier that you’ll connect with a board member. The chances of gaining release are diminished for the harder cases, for ones where there might be some historical reluctance to release.”

See CURE-NY's blog for the full text of the article.

Bill S2812: Includes the proposed amendments to the Parole Statute, Executive Law §259

Executive Budget Legislation. This includes the proposed amendments to the Parole Statute, Executive Law §259.

Bill S2812: Enacts into law major components of legislation necessary to implement the state fiscal plan for the 2011-2012 state fiscal year.

Summary of Bill S2812:

"Amd Various Laws, generally.

Enacts the financial regulation and protection act as a new consolidated chapter; repeals certain provisions of the banking, executive law and general business law; merges the office of victim services, state commission of correction and office for the prevention of domestic violence into the division of criminal justice services; amends the correction and executive law to merge the department of correctional services and division of parole into the department of corrections and community supervision; eliminates the New York state foundation for science, technology and innovation and transfers the functions thereof to the NYS urban development corporation."

Reactions to Cuomo's budget proposals for prison closure

From the Poughkeepsie Journal:

"The proposal is already meeting resistance from the union that represents correction officers. The mostly Republican lawmakers who represent the largely rural, upstate areas with prisons and youth centers may also oppose the closures and consolidations.

Cuomo, in his budget presentation, said the plan would need to move forward rapidly in order to save money.

"We are not talking about releasing prisoners. We are taking about consolidating prisons and unused space," Cuomo said.

The governor, a Democrat, added that he wants to include lawmakers in the process.

But the details of Cuomo's plan show that he would move quickly to close prisons after receiving recommendations from a commission 30 days after the budget is approved."

Full story:

Cuomo plan to close, combine prisons draws union opposition (Poughkeepsie Journal, February 2 2011)

See also:

NY prisons data show more assaults in 2010 (Wall Street Journal, February 22 2011)

Cuomo's prison panel irks Senate Republicans (Democrat and Chronicle.com, February 14 2011)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget seeks prison closures, juvenile justice reform (Democrat and Chronicle.com, February 2 2011)

After Cuomo’s budget proposal, local communities fear prison closures (The Post-Star, February 1 2011)

Cuomo: Task force to determine which prisons will close (update) (Adirondack Daily Enterprise, February 1 2011)

Cuomo to close prisons; Tug Hill agency gets ax (Watertown Daily Times, February 1 2011)

Prison guards PBA says no prisons can safely close (Times Union Capitol Confidential, February 1 2011)

Proposals in Governor Andrew Cuomo's 2011-12 Executive Budget

Proposals in Governor Andrew Cuomo's 2011-12 Executive Budget include "merging the Department of Correctional Services and the Division of Parole into the new Department of Corrections and Community Supervision; consolidating the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, the Office of Victim Services and the State Commission of Correction into the Division of Criminal Justice Services..."

"...significant reform of the State's juvenile justice system and greater use of preventive services to generate better outcomes for children and family as well as significant savings. These reforms will redirect savings achieved by right-sizing State facilities and reducing unnecessary juvenile detention into more effective and lower cost community-based alternatives."

"...The Governor's Executive Budget proposes to reduce excess capacity in prisons, youth detention and mental hygiene facilities. Governor Cuomo will reduce excess capacity using rational processes and will propose to eliminate the statutory 12-month notification prior to closures. Actions for youth and mental hygiene facilities will be taken following careful analysis of vacancy rates, service utilization, and other factors. For prisons, actions will be implemented pursuant to recommendations of a task force created by Executive Order to examine excess capacity and recommend specific prison closures of the enactment of the bill appropriating funds for State operations. If the task force does not recommend a sufficient plan of action, the Commissioner of Correctional Services would implement facility closures. Recognizing the impact of facility closures on host communities, the Executive Budget directs $100 million in economic development aid for affected areas."

Full text of the Executive Budget Press release, February 1 2011:

GOVERNOR CUOMO’S 2011-12 EXECUTIVE BUDGET PROVIDES TRANSFORMATION PLAN FOR A NEW NEW YORK

See also:

State of New York: 2011-12 Executive Budget Briefing Book. New York at a Crossroads: a Transformation Plan for a New New York

Cuomo may scale back prison-closing plan

Under pressure before the budget, Cuomo appears to be scaling back his plans for prison reform.

"Nearly a month ago, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made a call to close some prisons an emotional capstone of his first annual address to the Legislature, vowing, to sustained applause from fellow Democrats, that underused prisons would no longer be “an employment program” for upstate New York.

The issue has long prompted resentment, particularly for families of New York City residents who are shipped hours north of the city to be incarcerated, to places like the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, which is perched in the northern Adirondacks.

But now Mr. Cuomo appears to be, at least partly, in retreat.

The governor and his staff had considered closing or consolidating potentially 10 or more adult and youth prisons and other facilities controlled by the corrections department, but they have faced stiff resistance from Senate Republicans, who are trying to fend off the loss of hundreds of state jobs in some of their upstate districts.

Now the governor appears to be scaling back his ambitions, those with knowledge of his plans said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to talk on the record about the governor’s budget deliberations ahead of the budget’s completion.

Any plan to shutter specific prisons is unlikely to be included in the budget Mr. Cuomo releases on Tuesday and will be left to negotiations with the Legislature as it hammers out a final budget over the next two months.

The governor’s office has already signaled a willingness to accommodate Republicans; a plan floated on Friday in The New York Post suggests as few as six prisons would be closed, three of them in New York City, including two that house work-release programs.

If the new strategy holds, it would sharply curtail Mr. Cuomo’s ambition and could ultimately even increase the proportion of prisoners sent upstate."

For full story, see:

As Republicans Resist Closing Prisons, Cuomo Is Said to Scale Back Plan (New York Times, January 28 2011)

See also:

State Prisons and Medicaid to Face Cuts in Cuomo Budget (New York Times, January 31 2011)

Building Bridges - January 2011 edition

The January edition of Building Bridges has been issued by the Prison Action Network.

Topics covered this month include:

1. Actions, meetings and events happening around the state this month.

2. A good place to start cutting; NY Times article on Cuomo's speech.

3. Job opportunities with the Legal Action Center.

4. The New Jim Crow, Chapter 3 quotes.

5. NYS Parole Reform Campaign Report.

6. NYS Prisoner Justice Network Report.

7. Parole news.

8. Prison suicides, by Mary Beth Pfeiffer.

9. Think Outside the Cell adds 3 books to its series.

The Prison Action Network makes a plea for membership donations to support the continued publication of Building Bridges:

"Prison Action Network is running out of money to publish Building Bridges. Many of our members are in prison and cannot afford to make membership donations large enough to cover the cost of their newsletter. We are hoping you will bridge the gap. Please join Prison Action Network by sending us a yearly membership donation. It isn't fair that those in prison are carrying the full responsibility for supporting the newsletter that others benefit from as well. Whatever you can afford will be gratefully accepted. Donations may be sent to PAN at PO Box 6355, Albany, NY 12206. Thank you for your support."

A Good Place to Start Cutting

Governor Andrew Cuomo on prison reform:

A Good Place to Start Cutting (New York Times, January 6 2011)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo struck just the right tone on both adult prison reform and juvenile justice reform in his first State of the State address on Wednesday. He said that New York could no longer afford to keep hugely expensive but unneeded facilities open to serve as "an employment program" for upstate residents.

To get the Legislature to agree to shut these facilities, Mr. Cuomo will have to push back hard against the corrections workers' unions that have thwarted sound closure proposals from all three of his predecessors.

The case for closures is laid out in a new analysis by the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit group. New York's prison population has dropped from about 71,500 at its peak in 1999 to around 56,000 today. This has left more than 8,000 empty beds, meaning that the state could close or significantly downsize eight to 10 of the 67 units in the system and still have ample room to handle any unexpected spike in the population. The savings would be $220 million in the first year.

The state could also save money by reversing misguided criminal-justice policies. In 1995, Gov. George Pataki prohibited people convicted of violent crimes from participating in work-release programs. That order cut the number of participants from nearly 28,000 in 1994 to about 2,500 in 2007, the most recent year for which the association has data.

The point of Mr. Pataki's order was to protect the public from violent offenders, but it may well have had the opposite effect. Once they had done their time, inmates were dumped onto the streets without any chance to reacclimate and find their place in the community. Work-release programs cost about $7,500 per participant annually, as opposed to about $55,000 to keep one person behind bars. Increasing the number of participants to just 5,000 would save more than $80 million a year.

The state also needs to reform a parole system that returns as many as 8,000 inmates a year to prison for technical violations like breaking curfew. Other states have shown that they can keep the prison count down, at no risk to the public, by increasing supervision of violators instead of reflexively bouncing them back to jail.

These will be tough political fights. But for the sake of both fiscal sanity and sound public policy, they are ones that Governor Cuomo needs to fight and win.

Governor Andrew Cuomo's statement on prison reform, from the State of the State Address, January 5 2011

Governor Andrew Cuomo's statement on prison reform, from the State of the State Address, January 5 2011:

"...For those of us who are old enough to remember Willowbrook, it brings back very bad memories. When we think about our current juvenile justice facilities, I believe there are echoes of what we dealt with in Willowbrook. You have juvenile justice facilities today where we have young people who are incarcerated in these state programs who are receiving help assistance program treatment that has already been proven to be ineffective; Recidivism rate in the 90 percentile. The cost to the taxpayer is exorbitant.

For one child, over $200,000 per year. The reason we continue to keep these children in these programs that aren’t serving them but are bilking the taxpayers is that we don’t want to lose the state jobs that we would lose if we closed the facilities. I understand, I understand, the importance of keeping jobs. I understand the importance of keeping jobs especially in upstate New York. I also understand that that does not justify the burden on the taxpayer and the violation of civil rights of the young person who is in a program that they don’t need where they’re not being treated hundreds of miles from their home just to save state jobs. An incarceration program is not an employment program. If people need jobs, let’s get people jobs. Don’t put other people in prison to give some people jobs. Don’t put other people in juvenile justice facilities to give some people jobs. That’s not what this state is all about and that has to end this session."

Liberate N.Y. from its prisons, by Robert Gangi

Liberate N.Y. from its prisons, by Robert Gangi. (Albany Times Union, Tuesday, December 7, 2010)

Despite a sharply declining prison population and the very real need to cut state agency budgets, New York has closed hardly any of its underutilized prisons. For example, the state budget approved earlier this year included eliminating funding for just 450 beds.

More ambitious plans to shut facilities have failed largely for political reasons. Concerned about the loss of jobs, the correction officers union and legislators from upstate areas where most of the prisons are located have successfully blocked most closure proposals made by the state's past three governors: George Pataki, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson.

Now, however, trends that have been building for years in New York have reached a level of an almost perfect storm. The stage has been set for a major government initiative to close costly, empty prisons. Those trends include a continuing fiscal crisis with a projected $9 billion deficit for the next fiscal year alone, a prison population that has declined from more than 71,600 in 1999 to fewer than 57,000 today, a 28 percent drop in the crime rate in the last 10 years and a growing number of unused prison beds -- more than 8,000, by the state's own recent count.

Now Andrew Cuomo is coming into office with an unmistakable mandate to put state government in order. Cuomo stated during the campaign that he was prepared to stand up to the state's public service employee unions and to oversee substantial cuts in state agency budgets.

Given the convergence of these political and economic factors, given all those empty spaces and the dropping crime rate, why shouldn't the state's leaders move to close facilities?

Albany policymakers can enact additional population reduction measures that will make such a cost savings step easier to take:

Fully repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Even after last year's reforms, mandatory sentencing provisions remain on the books that will cause the imprisonment of thousands of minor drug offenders each year.

Restore work release. In 1994, more than 27,000 state inmates participated in work release, a proven, cost-beneficial program that aids in the safe transition back to the community. Now, about 2,500 are enrolled.

Expand graduated sanctions for technical parole violations. Last year, more than 8,000 people were returned to state prison for technical parole violations -- such as showing up late for an appointment or breaking curfew -- not for committing new crimes. Instead of returning people to prison, the state could enhance their level of supervision.

Increase parole release and expand merit time eligibility. The state Parole Board often denies individuals release because of the nature of their crime, despite their positive institutional records. Merit time, which allows inmates to earn time off their sentences, is not available to those convicted of violent offenses. Combined, these two policies delay the release of thousands of people every year.

When New York passed the Rockefeller Drug Laws in 1973, only about 12,500 people were confined in its prisons. About 300,000 people were locked up in the nation's prisons and jails. Those harsh laws effectively triggered a mandatory sentencing movement that swept the country. Today our nation's correctional facilities house nearly 2.4 million people, a growth of more than 600 percent.

This social experiment in "mass incarceration" has been a failure by any criteria. The evidence that it enhances public safety is, at best, mixed. Some consider it criminogenic. It has been enormously expensive, costing federal and local governments billions each year. And it has had a devastating impact on low-income communities of color where a starkly disproportionate number of the people who we imprison come from.

New York can perform a pivotal role in pointing criminal justice practice in a more productive direction by downsizing its prison system and re-investing some of the money saved in proven rehabilitation and community-based prevention programs.

The week after his election, Andrew Cuomo toured Sing Sing prison and spoke to the press afterward. He cited New York's declining prison population, calling it "good news." He also strongly suggested that New York could no longer justify paying to keep open institutions whose employees "literally have no function."

That was good news, too, and a significant signal that, on the prison downsizing front, New York's next governor is determined to fulfill a major campaign promise by succeeding where his predecessors so tellingly failed.

Robert Gangi is executive director of the Correctional Association of New York.