As prison closures loom, North Country inmate population plummets by 45%
As Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration weighs likely prison closures later this year, thirteen correctional facilities in the North Country could be targets, with most operating far below their inmate capacity.
The number of men incarcerated in the region's state-run prison complex has plummeted by nearly half over the last four years.
In the 2021 NYS budget, the state legislature authorized Governor Andrew Cuomo to close additional prisons this year "as is safe and fiscally appropriate," according to DOCCS.
Recent state data shows the North Country currently houses roughly 7,300 men behind bars. That's a 45% drop from 2017-2018, when the region's inmate population was roughly 13,300.
According to data from the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), ten out of the thirteen prisons in the North Country are operating below half-capacity.
Moriah Schock in Essex County is about 16% full. Altona Correctional in Clinton County is 30% full, while the state prison in Ogdensburg is about 35% full.
The facility operating at the highest capacity in the North Country is Great Meadow, a maximum-security prison in Washington County, which is 85% full with about 1360 incarcerated people.
Washington Correctional, also in Washington County, is 56% full, as is Clinton Correctional in Dannemora.
These changes reflect a statewide trend. New York State's prison population peaked in 1999, when there were 72,773 people behind bars. As of June 2021, there are 31,903 people incarcerated around the state, a 56% decline.
The decline in inmate populations come as Democratic lawmakers in Albany continue to enact criminal justice reforms that have curbed long prison sentences, especially for inmates serving time for non-violent drug crimes.
Earlier this year, the state closed three correctional facilities, including two in the North Country: Watertown and the Annex at Clinton Correctional in Dannemora. The main prison in Dannemora remains open, though it has about 1,000 fewer inmates since 2017.
A statement from DOCCS confirmed that the state is reviewing operations at the 50 correctional facilities across New York. DOCCS said the review process considers, but is not limited to: "physical infrastructure, program offerings, facility security level, specialized medical and mental health services, other facilities in the area to minimize the impact to staff, potential reuse options and areas of the State where prior closures have occurred in order to minimize the impact to communities."
While criminal justice advocates continue to push for further reductions in inmate populations — especially for older men and women serving time — North Country politicians like Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and State Assemblyman Billy Jones, a Democrat and former corrections officer, have lobbied to keep facilities in the region open.
State prisons are one of the main employers in the North Country.
As of June 2020, there were about 6,200 people employed at correctional facilities across the region. DOCCS said it does not anticipate any layoffs due to any closures this year, and said staff would be given the option to transfer to a nearby facility.
Since 2009, six state correctional facilities have been shuttered across the North Country, including ones in Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, and Saratoga counties. All of those facilities have remained vacant.
Statewide, 20 prison facilities across New York have been closed in the last few decades, reflecting the continued decline in the statewide prison population.
