The Cost of Incarceration in NYS: Erie County

Vera Institute of Justice — Apr 13, 2021

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Poor Implementation Puts Health at Risk: An Evaluation of the New York Release Program for People Incarcerated on Charges of Technical Parole Violations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Stephen Hart — Jan 18, 2021

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Stop Receipts in Buffalo: Pursuit of Racial Justice and Accountability

Joshua Swiatek — Jan 6, 2021

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Save Money, Save Lives: An Analysis of the Fiscal Impact of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act

Partnership for the Public Good — Nov 29, 2020

In New York State, a majority of state lawmakers support passage of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act (S.1623/A.2500), to restrict the use of solitary confinement in prisons and jails in line with international human rights standards. Several local legislatures have endorsed the bill, including the Erie County Legislature.

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Shrinking Jails, Rising Costs: Erie County's Wasteful Jail Budget

Colleen Kristich — Nov 21, 2020

This policy brief presents data on the makeup of the Erie County jail population, which has reduced by 48% since 2017. It examines the capacity of both jails and determines that one jail could be closed, with savings redirected to other community-based harm reduction services. The brief compares Erie County spending on jails with spending on mental and public health, and makes recommendations for County leaders to further reduce the jail population, capture the savings of decarceration, and …

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Prisons of Poverty

Teresa A. Miller — Mar 1, 2014

The Buffalo Poverty Research Workshop V interview with Teresa A. Miller, Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion and Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo.

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Alarming Disparities: The Disproportionate Number of African American and Hispanic People in Erie County Criminal Justice System

Open Buffalo — Nov 1, 2013

This study on the disproportionate number of African-American and Hispanic people in the Erie County criminal justice system reveals four findings for further analysis.  Representation of the African-American and Hispanic populations is disproportionately high in each stage of the criminal justice process, from arrest through sentencing.  The disparities grow worse at each stage of the process.  Violent felonies and drug felonies yield the greatest racial disparities.  The …

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Best Practices in Mental Health at Corrections Facilities

Sahil Jain — Nov 1, 2011

Police, court personnel, and correctional staff interact with, stabilize, and treat more persons with mental illness than any other system in America—making criminal justice agencies the largest mental health provider in the United States.  Yet a wide gap exists between the training of corrections staff and the enormous responsibility they have for day-to-day management of mental health issues.  To narrow this gap in jail and prison settings, the best practices include training …

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The Erie County Holding Center and Correctional Facility

Rachel Jones — May 2, 2009

The Erie County Holding Center is a maximum security detention center.  The Center is used to house inmates before their trials.  The Erie County Holding Center is located at 40 Delaware, Buffalo New York, 14202.  The Erie County Correctional Facility is a medium security facility, which can house 1,070 inmates.  It holds inmates who have committed a variety of different crimes.  The Correction Facility also houses parole violators for the State of New York.  These …

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Alternatives to Incarceration

Regional Institute — Oct 10, 2007

Like criminal justice officials throughout the country, Erie County officials and criminal justice system stakeholders are grappling with jail conditions at the Erie County Holding Center and Erie County Correctional Facility that can be summed up in two words: chronic overcrowding.  With jail construction costs skyrocketing and the nature of the jail population changing, identifying obstacles in the system that contribute to overcrowding and implementing alternatives to incarceration …

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