NCJ Number
144884
Journal
Conservationist/NYSDEC Dated: (September-October 1992) Pages: 44-47
Date Published
1992
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the features and effectiveness of New York State's shock incarceration program.
Abstract
Legislation was passed in July 1987 to establish New York's shock incarceration program. The purpose was to reduce the demand for prison bed space and to treat and release selected State prisoners earlier than their court- mandated periods of incarceration without compromising community safety. Shock incarceration is a 6-month voluntary program for eligible, nonviolent felony offenders. It features highly structured and regimented routine. It includes extensive discipline, physical labor, exercise, and intensive drug and substance abuse rehabilitation. Inmates have the opportunity to develop socially acceptable tools to succeed, including academics, drug treatment, and work ethics. Inmates perform community service projects in neighboring towns and villages. The program has an annual capacity of 3,000 offenders, including 150 beds for female offenders in each 6-month phase. One program, located near the Adirondack Forest Preserve, supplies a workforce for many labor-intensive projects in the preserve. This includes the construction of trail systems and facilities for wildlife management areas, as well as the maintenance of fisheries and forest fire control. A total of 8,515 people have entered the shock incarceration program since it began on July 13, 1987. A total of 4,411 graduates, including 253 women, were released to parole as of September 30, 1991. For the first 4,411 releases from the shock program the department has saved the taxpayers an estimated $177 million in both operating and capital costs.