ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision handed down new safety and security measures. That’s because, according to a DOCCS spokesperson, an intoxicated incarcerated person bit a staff member during a use of force incident at Otisville Correctional Facility in Orange County on September 23.
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The measures are responding to a “crisis situation” involving a “spate of illnesses to corrections officers and inmates alike from unknown substances.” Department spokesperson Nicole March confirmed that three corrections officers and one National Guard member felt light-headed and experienced other symptoms after the bite.
That’s why DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III issued memos to staff and the incarcerated population outlining a new package room procedure effective as of September 23. In it, Martuscello said new measures would intercept “illicit substances from coming into our correctional facilities, which have resulted in overdoses, deaths, anxiety, and violent behaviors against staff and/or other incarcerated individuals within our facilities.”
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Now, packages of printed material and tobacco products will be held for up to six days for extra screening. The memo said DOCCS will work with incarcerated people and experts to develop more long-term contraband strategies, including with district attorneys on prosecutions for illicit substances.
DOCCS will be using police dogs from OSI to perform checks to prevent contraband. They said canine operations led to 395 visitor arrests in 2024 and 160 visitor arrests so far this year.
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Martuscello said that if the drug issue persists, DOCCS will consider eliminating tobacco deliveries altogether. In that case, they’d only be available through the commissary…