State audit questions Commission on Corrections

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August 27, 2008

By JOE LoTEMPLIO The Press Republican Wed Aug 27, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

PLATTSBURGH -- An audit of the State Commission on Corrections shows that it has been deficient in performing its duties, but also acknowledges that there have been severe staffing shortages.

"We found the State Commission on Corrections is not fulfilling its responsibilities for overseeing state correctional facilities," the audit said.

It went on to say, "State Commission on Corrections stopped inspecting Department of Correctional Services prisons when its staffing levels were reduced during the 1990s."

The audit also was critical of the commission's failure to inspect state youth facilities since it was ordered to make them in 1996.

"In our opinion, as a result of this lack of oversight, any unsafe or inappropriate practices at state correctional facilities are less likely to be detected and corrected," the report reads.

The commission is responsible for overseeing all state and local correctional facilities, including 77 county correctional facilities and 317 local police lock-ups.

Staffing levels for the commission have dropped from 66 employees in 1990-91 to 35 in 2006-07, the report said.

Former Plattsburgh Mayor Daniel Stewart, who was named chairman of the commission in June of 2006, said the audit was beneficial in that it showed what needs to be addressed.

"It's good because it shows what was done, what is needed to be done and why some things can't be done," he said.

Stewart said the reduction in commission staff and the lack of funding for programs, such as youth-facility inspection, have been difficult obstacles to deal with.

The commission has focused its efforts on county jails because their size and scope are different across the state.

"In the Department of Corrections if they want to make a change, they can make it statewide, but in the county jails, they are all different," Stewart said.

"A Rikers Island with 14,000 inmates is a lot different than a jail in Clinton County with a couple hundred inmates. You have to be careful not to overburden localities, and you have to use discretion."

Stewart, an appointee of former Republican Gov. George Pataki, was recently replaced as chairman of the commission by Niagara County Sheriff Thomas Beilein with support from Democratic Gov. David Paterson.

Stewart now heads the commission's Medical Review Board, which investigates inmate deaths and oversees inmate health-care services.

"I think our field staff has done a heck of a job, considering the mandates we've been given and the lack of staff we have," Stewart said.

"I'm sure our new chair will be speaking to the administration about this, but in this era of budget cuts, we will have to see how this is handled.

"But this agency is critical to public safety."

E-mail Joe LoTemplio at:

jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com