Archive: News

Sheriff Peter Meskill today announced a new program in cooperation with the State Department of Correctional Services that will lead to significant cost savings for Tompkins County. Sheriff Peter Meskill said that Sheriffs across New York State, and especially those in the Western New York area, anticipate considerable savings to their counties as a result of a decision by the New York State Department of Correctional Services to designate added facilities as reception facilities for receiving state prisoners.

When county jail inmates are sentenced to serve prison terms in a New York correctional facility, the Sheriff is required to transport that individual to one of a few designated prisons for further processing by state correctional officers. At a recent training conference for Sheriffs hosted by the New York State Sheriffs' Association, State DOCS Commissioner Brian Fischer met with Sheriffs and heard that some must make very lengthy trips to deliver these inmates into State custody.

Commissioner Fischer agreed to review the problem, and has announced that female inmates will now be accepted at the Albion facility in Orleans County; until now, all female inmates were transported by Sheriffs to the State's prison at Bedford Hills, in Westchester County. Also, the State will accept male inmates at its Auburn facility in Cayuga County; currently, many Sheriffs in the western part of the State transported these inmates to the state's prison in Elmira, which is in Chemung County.

Meskill stated that the ability to transport state sentenced females to the Albion Correctional Facility in Orleans County instead of the Bedford Hills Facility downstate will reduce overtime and fuel costs for our agency. In light of the ever increasing cost of doing business, I applaud the efforts of DOCS Commissioner Brian Fischer for listening to our concerns and taking appropriate action. The ability to take male inmates to Elmira or Auburn will have no financial impact because we are fortunate to be in close proximity to the Elmira Facility. These efforts will help many Sheriff Offices throughout New York contain costs. I look forward to more collaboration and agreements that will continue to allow the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office to maximize efficiency and contain costs.

Montgomery County Sheriff Michael Amato, who is the President of the Sheriffs' Association, added that besides the cost savings, the action by DOCS Commissioner Brian Fischer would enhance officer safety. "Officers transporting inmates to state prisons must often travel for very long periods of time, regardless of weather conditions, and anything we can do to make those trips shorter will also make them safer for our officers."

----
v4i25