BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County Sheriff’s Office announced it has been informed that the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) will resume intake of state-ready incarcerated individuals at its male facilities, effective Monday.
NYS DOCCS suspended intake on February 18, during the wildcat strike by corrections officers across New York State. The strike began on February 17 over what corrections officers claimed were unsafe working conditions inside state prisons. On March 10, DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello announced the strike was over.
The sheriff's office said it has been advised that DOCCS plans to admit approximately 75-100 state-ready individuals per week across the entire state.
According to the sheriff's office, it has 129 state-ready individuals in custody and there are approximately 2,000 state-ready individuals in custody at county-run facilities statewide.
In a statement, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said his office is "relieved to see the suspension come to an end," but also included the following:
"Although DOCCS will start taking custody of some of them at a slow pace, we will undoubtedly be adding more names to the list as convicted defendants are sentenced in the coming weeks and months. At 75-100 individuals per week statewide, the rate of state-ready individuals being transferred out of our custody will not match the rate of state-ready individuals being added to the list.
As I have previously stated, this creates a budgetary issue for my office, as we did not anticipate DOCCS’ intake suspension when our spending plan was approved by the Erie County Legislature last year. Nonetheless, I have instructed my Jail Management Division and Correctional Health Division to continue to offer services required by law in an efficient manner.”
