Suffolk County Halts Jail Construction

YAPHANK, N.Y. — In late March, New York officials froze a mandate requiring that Suffolk County build a $112 million, second-phase addition to its Yaphank jail. The decision reversed the 2004 Commission of Correction’s order to build a new facility to address overcrowding in its jails — a problem that has since been declining.

In 2004, the commission complained that the county had as many as 500 inmates over the 1,350-inmate jail capacity at its Riverhead and Yaphank jails. As a result, the county embarked on a two-phase construction project at Yaphank jail. The first phase, which cost $185 million, added 420 beds to the facility in 2013. The latest, second phase would add 360 more beds, reported Newsday.

In the past couple years, however, the number of inmates in Suffolk County jails has decreased significantly. In 2011, the daily average of inmates was 1,783, which has since dropped to 1,320 in January, according to Newsday.

The decline in inmates is a result of county initiatives that help lower recidivism rates. For instance, youthful offenders convicted of nonviolent misdemeanor offenses are being sent to community placements in supervised environments at Hope House or Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch, reported Southold Local. Another program, youth felony court, gives young offenders counseling for substance abuse in a community-based setting, and assigns them a special probation officer.

The county also expanded programs to help low-risk, pretrial detainees who are homeless, cannot afford bail, or need treatment or supervision instead of jail. A supervised release program for offenders of all ages allows for their release from jail. Offenders can get counseling and training, and are assigned a probation officer to supervise them. The program has tripled in size from about 35 people to 97 in the past five months, Kristin MacKay, public relations director for the sheriff’s office told Southold Local.

Newsday reported that Suffolk County would save $58 million in interest costs and $140 million to $164 million in staffing costs to operate the second-phase facility. As of now, the county will halt planning and design for the new jail construction, and the correction commission will assess the situation again in three to five years to determine whether or not the county needs more jail space.