The Correctional Association of New York (CA) is one of only two independent organizations in the United States that have legislative authority to visit prisons and report on conditions of confinement. Since 1846, the CA has carried out this special legislative mandate to keep policymakers and the public informed about conditions of confinement that affect both inmates and corrections staff. As an independent citizens' organization, we are dedicated to involving the public in prison monitoring and advocacy. The Prison Visiting Project (PVP) of the CA…is responsible for performing this monitoring function.…

Broadly defined, the work of the Prison Visiting Project includes: (a) visiting state correctional facilities on a regular basis and issuing detailed reports of findings and recommendations to state corrections officials and state legislators; (b) preparing and distributing in-depth studies on critical corrections topics that include findings and practical recommendations for improvements; (c) advocating for reform at public hearings, in meetings with state legislators, at conferences and in discussions with the media; and (d) helping raise the visibility of corrections-related issues through publishing research reports and gaining media attention, posting fact sheets and prison reports on our website, and making presentations at academic and professional conferences.

…Given the generally closed nature of correctional institutions and the lack of political or public mechanisms to make these institutions accountable, it falls on organizations such as the CA to be society's camera and report on what is actually happening inside prison walls.…

Excerpted from a written statement submitted to the Commission