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Sen. Ritchie pleased bill to force state to take their prisoners out of county hands passes state Senate

Posted 6/23/12

A bill to force the state to take prisoners more quickly from county jails to the state prisons they are destined for has passed the state Senate. Senator Patty Ritchie, sponsor of the bill, says it …

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Sen. Ritchie pleased bill to force state to take their prisoners out of county hands passes state Senate

Posted

A bill to force the state to take prisoners more quickly from county jails to the state prisons they are destined for has passed the state Senate.

Senator Patty Ritchie, sponsor of the bill, says it will ease local county jail overcrowding, by requiring the state to quickly pick up its inmates and place them back in state prisons.

It amends the correction law to give the Department of Correctional Services just 10 days to transport parole violators from county jails to state facilities. Now, nearly 1,000 state parole violators are in county jails for extended periods of time, at the cost of local taxpayers.

“In prisons in both Central and Northern New York, state parole violators are contributing to jail overcrowding,” said Ritchie.

“That’s forcing some leaders to call for expansions, while at the same time the state is looking to downsize empty prisons. This just doesn’t make sense.

“This legislation will ensure that local taxpayers aren’t footing the bill to house, feed and guard state prisoners for longer than they should have to.”

The bill would require the state to reimburse counties for the cost of any state inmate that is left in a county jail beyond 10 days.

The bill has been delivered to the Assembly.