The Coalition to Raise the Minimum Standards at New York City Jails

NEW! PETITION FOR RULEMAKING SUBMITTED BY THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY.

The Board of Correction was established in 1957 to monitor New York City’s jails and has the authority to visit facilities, inspect all records, and make recommendations for better practices.  The “Minimum Standards for New York City Correctional Facilities” are the basic rules of the jail system which were imposed in 1978 amid a crisis of violence and overcrowding in the city’s jails.

The Minimum Standards have a major impact on the daily lives of prisoners, from personal hygiene to how many individuals may be packed into dormitory rooms to how many hours they may be locked into cells.  The rules affect families as well, covering visiting policies, telephone access, and correspondence with their family members who are in jail.

The Coalition to Raise the Minimum Standards at New York City Jails was formed after the Board of Correction first published proposed changes to the Minimum Standards for New York City Correctional Facilities in January 2007.   The Coalition consists of current and former prisoners and their families, other concerned members of the New York City community, and more than twenty prisoners' rights and social justice organizations working in New York City and across the country.

The Board of Correction has no website, and the Board has not made the proposed revisions available online.   The only way to access transcripts of testimony before the Board, or written comments submitted by outside organizations and individuals, is to go to the Board's office at 51 Chambers Street, Room 923, NY, NY 10007.

The Coalition to Raise the Minimum Standards has put together this website in order to make these materials readily available to the public.