Why we are organizing
Background
In 2016, the New York State Commissioner of Corrections (SCOC) notified Tompkins County (TC) that it would pull the variance that allowed the Tompkins County Jail to hold more inmates than its official building capacity permitted. While the TC Jail is officially supposed to hold 75 inmates, the variance allowed it to keep up to 93. When the SCOC pulled the variance, Tompkins County suddenly faced the problem of having to board out all inmates in excess of the 75 officially allowed by the building to surrounding counties. This would significantly increase Tompkins County’s boarding out expenses, since boarding out people is very expensive.
The SCOC agreed to extend the variance a while longer, but in exchange it told TC that it had to address its “overcrowding” problem either by reducing its jail population or by building a bigger jail.
The TC Legislature established a subcommittee to deal with the jail’s overcrowding problem and SCOC’s pressure to deal with the overcrowding problem (TC Jail Task Force). This subcommittee commissioned a $60,000 study that would examine 1) ways that Tompkins County could reduce its jail population, 2) existing alternatives to incarceration programs and how they might help reduce the jail population or create effective diversion processes, 3) the costs and possibilities of a bigger jail. The study is currently being conducted by CGR, a consultant based in Rochester and is scheduled to conclude this spring or summer.
In 2016, the New York State Commissioner of Corrections (SCOC) notified Tompkins County (TC) that it would pull the variance that allowed the Tompkins County Jail to hold more inmates than its official building capacity permitted. While the TC Jail is officially supposed to hold 75 inmates, the variance allowed it to keep up to 93. When the SCOC pulled the variance, Tompkins County suddenly faced the problem of having to board out all inmates in excess of the 75 officially allowed by the building to surrounding counties. This would significantly increase Tompkins County’s boarding out expenses, since boarding out people is very expensive.
The SCOC agreed to extend the variance a while longer, but in exchange it told TC that it had to address its “overcrowding” problem either by reducing its jail population or by building a bigger jail.
The TC Legislature established a subcommittee to deal with the jail’s overcrowding problem and SCOC’s pressure to deal with the overcrowding problem (TC Jail Task Force). This subcommittee commissioned a $60,000 study that would examine 1) ways that Tompkins County could reduce its jail population, 2) existing alternatives to incarceration programs and how they might help reduce the jail population or create effective diversion processes, 3) the costs and possibilities of a bigger jail. The study is currently being conducted by CGR, a consultant based in Rochester and is scheduled to conclude this spring or summer.