Advocates want free NY prison visitor bus back
Posted at: 08/06/2012 11:00 AM
By: AP
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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Advocates for nearly 56,000 New York inmates and their families are urging the state to resume free bus service to its prisons, saying visits have dropped since it was discontinued a year ago. They say the $1.5 million in savings doesn't justify the social cost.
In a report earlier this year, the Vera Institute of Justice cites studies that show far fewer violations by prisoners who get regular family visits. The institute also reports higher self-esteem and fewer behavioral problems among children who visit incarcerated parents.
Corrections officials say the decline in visitors has been modest, and that the free buses were often half-empty.
Meanwhile, they've launched "televisiting" between Albion prison upstate and a Brooklyn site, with plans to expand the program soon to Auburn, Chateaugay and Clinton prisons.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
