NCJ Number
82903
Date Published
1981
Length
190 pages
Annotation
This report focuses on the extent of abuses and corruption at the Green Haven Correctional Facility of Duchess County, N.Y.
Abstract
This investigation reviewed conditions at Green Haven from 1972 to the present. Various investigative techniques were employed, including examination of the records of the Department of Correctional Services, use of undercover workers, interviews with officials, field interviews, and evaluation of bank and telephone records. Green Haven is a maximum security prison which houses over 1,800 inmates; the staff includes 750 persons, 550 of whom are correctional officers. Findings revealed that widespread corruption and related abuses have existed at Green Haven for many years, in part as the result of well intentioned reforms instituted in response to the Attica uprising. The new inmate programs and the lax or corrupt attitudes of the officers and supervisors have caused dissension and demoralization at the facility. Veteran officers sought out job assignments which required little or no inmate contact. Green Haven experienced a constant turnover of its security staff. Investigative efforts confirmed corrupt activities ranging from petty pilferage and favors to escapes of prisoners, notably murderers Albert Victory and William Cody. Officers and inmates were reluctant to provide information. Accordingly, the report recommends that the legislature establish a temporary commission to investigate and make recommendations with respect to the extent of corruption within other facilities and the overall management of affairs of the Department of Correctional Services.