Impact of Foreign-Born Inmates on the New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS)

• NCJ Number: 125426
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: New York State Dept of Correctional Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report documents the increase in the number of foreign-born inmates in New York State correctional facilities between 1985 and 1989. While the number of native-born inmates increased 41 percent during this time period, the number of foreign-born inmates increased by 123 percent.

Abstract

Over 80 percent of foreign-born inmates in New York are from the Caribbean region or South American; two-thirds of this population were born in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Cuba, or Jamaica. Only two-fifths of these inmates have legal residence in the United States, and only three percent are naturalized citizens. Language and communication problems, the seriousness of offenses committed by foreign-born inmates, particularly drug offenses, and the drain on Department of Correctional Services resources to maintain foreign-born inmates are issues of concern. 10 tables.