Criminal Justice
Summary
Many of those incarcerated in New York State prisons are afflicted with mental health or addiction problems. These individuals, and the greater society, would be best served by offering lower-cost alternatives to incarceration to address the problems that are at the root of their criminal activity.
Conference Position
The Catholic Conference supports efforts to reduce crime and recidivism, and to help former offenders recover and live productively in the community through expansion and improved coordination of alternatives to incarceration for mentally ill and addicted offenders throughout New York State. More 
Summary
The New York State Department of Corrections has historically operated some cells that segregate prisoners for periods of time for disciplinary and administrative purposes. Since the 1970s, the State has developed “Special Housing Units” (SHUs) where inmates spend 23 hours a day in single cells. Such inmates are denied congregate programming or religious worship, but offered limited privileges related to visitation, law library and education. In recent years, the state has approved plans to create a more limited version of SHU cells in a maximum security facility and designated medium security facilities. These units are specifically designed to keep contact between inmates and staff to a minimum. Current plans call for long periods of confinement in cells that severely restrict access to personal hygiene, physical exercise, human contact and religious services.
Conference Position
More
Summary
An effective juvenile justice system must be restorative and therapeutic in nature rather than retributive. It must seek to rehabilitate youth who come into contact with the criminal justice system, place crime within a community context, and offer alternatives to incarceration of juveniles while holding public safety paramount. Juvenile detention centers should be the last resort rather than the norm. Community-based strategies allow youth who do not represent a threat to community safety to stay with their families and provide greater access to supportive interventions. This strategy facilitates greater collaboration between state, city and county agencies and community-based programs with social service and restorative justice expertise. Reforms to the juvenile justice system serve the goals of restorative justice practices by bringing healing to youth, families, and neighborhoods impacted by youth crime and offer a more humane alternative for restoring safety to communities. The comprehensive reform of the juvenile justice system is critical and merits swift and decisive action to prevent losing another generation of New York’s youth to a broken system.
Conference Position
More
Summary
If New York State prisons are to be truly correctional facilities, then correctional planning for each inmate must begin at the start of incarceration. Accordingly, a pre-release plan should be developed upon reception that identifies specific therapeutic correctional programs, as well as occupational, educational and other training programs.
Repeated crime after release from prison, and repeated prison sentences are major drains on New York’s finances and quality of life. With tens of thousands of formerly incarcerated persons being released back into our communities each year, we must do more to reduce costly recidivism.
Conference Position
More
Summary
There are a growing number of old, feeble and very sick prisoners currently incarcerated in the New York State correctional system. These inmates experience additional suffering as a result of their physical deterioration, and are an extraordinary drain on state resources, because of their special needs and medical expenses. Careful screening and release under supervision in the community would insure that those released pose minimal or no risk to public safety. Compassion and fiscal economy are advanced by the practical accommodation of earlier, but controlled release to the community.
Conference Position
More
Summary
The Catholic Bishops of the State of New York indicated in September of 2000 in “Restoring All to the Fullness of Life” that it is essential to the safety of society that offenders be given every opportunity to restore themselves to wholeness, and re-integrate themselves as productive, law-abiding members of the community. Motivation for effective rehabilitation depends on strong personal incentives. Early release is a powerful incentive and should be offered to most inmates conditioned upon their completion of major rehabilitation programs and demonstration of evident rehabilitation.
Conference Position
More
Summary
New York’s public defender system is broken. The federal and state constitutions guarantee a right to counsel. The current system has failed to provide indigent criminal defendants with adequate legal representation. Each county maintains its own public defender system, and there is unevenness in quality of services provided.
Conference Position
More
Summary
An effective, restorative criminal justice system must include victim awareness programs. Efforts to heal and restore victims and to rehabilitate those who have harmed them are inextricably connected. Victim awareness programs can serve the goals of restorative justice by bring healing to the victims of crime, offering rehabilitation and re-integration to those convicted of crimes, and restoring safety to a society destabilized by crime.
Conference Position
More
Summary
Many of those incarcerated in New York State prisons are afflicted with mental health or addiction problems. These individuals, and the greater society, would be best served by offering lower-cost alternatives to incarceration to address the problems that are at the root of their criminal activity.
Conference Position
More
