Be a Jail Watchdog

While not entirely complete, our collection includes the SCOC minimum standards evaluations for most New York counties from 2018 to 2023.

In Onondaga County, home to Syracuse, a sheriff announced a plan to close one of his department’s two jails — just days before leaving office. His replacement warned that the proposal would cause overcrowding and chaos. But the county legislature passed the plan anyway, claiming the main jail could handle the influx. Who was right? It was a low-information local debate — until we dug into the SCOC records. With reporting partner Central Current, New York Focus revealed years of persistent problems in the county’s main jail, which the state had dubbed one of New York’s “most problematic local correctional facilities.”

Another story uncovered the ways that county jails have skirted New York’s landmark solitary confinement law, which set strict limits on how long jails can hold incarcerated people in isolation. New York Focus found that some jails continue to employ the practice — categorized internationally as a form of torture — while publicly reporting that they aren’t.

Yet another investigation showed what little recourse people incarcerated in New York’s jails have to address poor conditions or mistreatment. The minimum standards reports illustrated how sheriff’s offices often ignore or suppress formal grievances. And grievances that incarcerated people appeal to SCOC mostly go nowhere, too: The commission reviewed nearly 12,500 grievances between 2019 and 2021 and rejected more than 98 percent of them, New York Focus found. In a recent meeting, they spent an average of eight seconds on each case.

Lastly, we dug into SCOC itself: where it came from, where it’s headed, and how it affects the roughly 50,000 incarcerated people caught in the gap between SCOC’s vested power and how it chooses to wield it. We narrated the commission’s history, illuminated a pattern of failures of enforcement, and identified a leadership position that had sat vacant for months. And we assessed the prospect that the state government might hold the accountability body accountable.

The database below offers a glimpse into the most prominent problems plaguing county jails — useful fodder for targeted investigations. Since it contains records over multiple years, it can shed light on which issues persist over time. We’ve noticed, for instance, that SCOC staff frequently ding jails for imposing informal or illegal discipline — a gateway to abuse — and for failing to offer the required amount of visitation time. One of the most significant problems plaguing jails across the country is insufficient medical and mental health care; the database contains dozens of examples of health-related violations.

The documents can also provide important context for local news and political debates. Is your county considering opening or closing a jail? Check to see how the facilities are operating now. Is your sheriff running for re-election? Read up on how they’ve been treating people in their custody. Did a jail see a recent death or violent incident? Explore the issues that may have contributed to it.

They can also reveal more about SCOC, the oversight body compiling the reports — particularly the cursory manner in which it inspects jails and its propensity to let issues linger.

Both SCOC and county sheriff’s offices hold these reports. We recommend requesting them from the counties, as SCOC often takes months to fulfill FOIL requests. Some sheriffs take FOILs over email, while some have an online form you can fill out. See your county and county sheriff’s websites for information on how to file a request.

The request should read something like this:

Hello:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

All Minimum Standards Evaluation reports provided to the office of the [your county] Sheriff by the New York State Commission of Correction during [your chosen timeframe].

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request be fulfilled electronically, by email attachment.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within five business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Once you file, the county should respond acknowledging your request. Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks later, a county records access officer should email you the documents.

Some counties may try to claim that they don’t have to give you the records. They’re wrong. The most common excuse they give is a subsection of the Freedom of Information Law known as Public Officer Law §87.2(g), which exempts “inter-agency or intra-agency materials” from disclosure. If they cite that subsection, ask to whom you should file an appeal, then send that official an email with this language.

And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop us a note.

Pitches can be sent to New York Focus’s managing editor, Maia Hibbett, at maia@nysfocus.com.

If you have questions or tips about the documents, FOIL, SCOC, county jails, or any other in-the-weeds stuff, you can email our criminal justice reporter, Chris Gelardi, at chris@nysfocus.com.