N.Y. Correction Law 856 – Conduct of incarcerated individuals participating in a temporary release program
* § 856. Conduct of incarcerated individuals participating in a temporary release program. 1. An incarcerated individual who is permitted to leave the premises of an institution to participate in a temporary release program shall have on his or her person a card identifying him or her as a participant in a temporary release program as signed by the superintendent of the institution at all times while outside the premises of the institution and shall exhibit such card to any peace officer or police officer upon request of such officer. The commissioner may, by regulation, require such information, including effective dates, to be included in such card as he or she shall deem necessary and proper.
Terms Used In N.Y. Correction Law 856
- Eligible incarcerated individual: means : a person confined in an institution who is eligible for release on parole or who will become eligible for release on parole or conditional release within two years. See N.Y. Correction Law 851
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Institution: means any institution under the jurisdiction of the state department of corrections and community supervision or an institution designated by the commissioner pursuant to section seventy-two-a of this chapter. See N.Y. Correction Law 851
- Superintendent: means the person in charge of an institution, by whatever title he or she may be known. See N.Y. Correction Law 851
- Temporary release program: means a "work release program" a "furlough program" a "community services program" an "industrial training leave" an "educational leave" or a "leave of absence. See N.Y. Correction Law 851
- Warden: means the person in charge of an institution, by whatever title he may be known. See N.Y. Correction Law 851
- Work release program: means a program under which eligible incarcerated individuals may be granted the privilege of leaving the premises of an institution for a period not exceeding fourteen hours in any day for the purpose of on-the-job training or employment, or for any matter necessary to the furtherance of any such purposes. See N.Y. Correction Law 851
2. If the incarcerated individual violates any provision of the program, or any rule or regulation promulgated by the commissioner for conduct of incarcerated individuals participating in temporary release programs, such incarcerated individual shall be subject to disciplinary measures to the same extent as if he or she violated a rule or regulation of the commissioner for conduct of incarcerated individuals within the premises of the institution. The failure of an incarcerated individual to voluntarily return to the institution of his or her confinement more than ten hours after his or her prescribed time of return shall create a rebuttable presumption that the failure to return was intentional. Any incarcerated individual who is found to have intentionally failed to return pursuant to this subdivision shall be an absconder in violation of his or her temporary release program and will not be an eligible incarcerated individual as defined in subdivision two of section eight hundred fifty-one of this chapter. The creation of such rebuttable presumption shall not be admissible in any court of law as evidence of the commission of any crime defined in the penal law. A full report of any such violation, a summary of the facts and findings of the disciplinary hearing and disciplinary measures taken, shall be made available to the board for the incarcerated individual's next scheduled appearance before the state board of parole including any defense or explanation offered by the incarcerated individual in response at such hearing.
3. The provisions of this chapter relating to good behavior allowances shall apply to behavior of incarcerated individuals while participating in temporary release programs outside the premises of institutions, and such allowances may be granted, withheld, forfeited or cancelled in whole or in part for behavior outside the premises of an institution to the same extent and in the same manner as is provided for behavior of incarcerated individuals within the premises of institutions.
4. An incarcerated individual who is in violation of the provisions of his or her temporary release program may be taken into custody by any peace officer or police officer and, in such event, the incarcerated individual shall be returned forthwith to either the institution that released him or her, or to the nearest secure facility where greater security is indicated. In any case where the institution is in a county other than the one in which the incarcerated individual is apprehended, the officer may deliver the incarcerated individual to the nearest institution, jail or lockup and it shall be the duty of the person in charge of said facility to hold such incarcerated individual securely until such time as he or she is delivered into the custody of an officer of the institution from which he or she was released. Upon delivering the incarcerated individual to an institution, jail or lockup, other than the one from which the incarcerated individual was released, the officer who apprehended the incarcerated individual shall forthwith notify the superintendent of the institution from which the incarcerated individual was released and it shall be the duty of the superintendent to effect the expeditious return of the incarcerated individual to the institution.
5. Upon the conclusion or termination of a temporary release program, a full report of the incarcerated individual's performance in such program shall be prepared in accordance with regulations of the commissioner. Such report shall include but not be limited to: adjustment to release, supervision contacts, statement of any violations of the terms and conditions of release and of any disciplinary actions taken, and an assessment of the incarcerated individual's suitability for parole. Such report shall be made available to the state board of parole for the incarcerated individual's next scheduled appearance before such board.
* NB Effective until September 1, 2025
* § 854. Conduct of incarcerated individuals participating in work release program. 1. An incarcerated individual who is permitted to leave the premises of an institution to participate in a program of work release shall have on his or her person a copy of the memorandum of that program as signed by the warden of the institution at all times while outside the premises of the institution and shall exhibit such copy to any peace officer upon request of the officer.
2. If the incarcerated individual violates any provision of the program, or any rule or regulation promulgated by the commissioner of corrections and community supervision for conduct of incarcerated individuals participating in work release programs, he or she shall be subject to disciplinary measures to the same extent as if he or she violated a rule or regulation of the commissioner for conduct of incarcerated individuals within the premises of the institution.
3. The provisions of this chapter relating to good behavior allowances shall apply to behavior of incarcerated individuals while participating in work release programs outside the premises of institutions, and such allowances may be granted, withheld, forfeited or cancelled in whole or in part for behavior outside the premises of an institution to the same extent and in the same manner as is provided for behavior of incarcerated individuals within the premises of institutions.
4. An incarcerated individual who is in violation of the provisions of his or her work release program may be taken into custody by any peace officer and, in such event, the incarcerated individual shall be returned forthwith to the institution that released him or her. In any case where the institution is in a county other than the one in which the incarcerated individual is apprehended, the officer may deliver the incarcerated individual to the nearest institution, jail or lockup and it shall be the duty of the person in charge of said facility to hold such incarcerated individual securely until such time as he or she is delivered into custody of an officer of the institution from which he or she was released. Upon delivering the incarcerated individual to an institution, jail or lockup, other than the one from which he or she was released, the peace officer who apprehended the incarcerated individual shall forthwith notify the warden of the institution from which the incarcerated individual was released and it shall be the duty of the warden to effect the expeditious return of the incarcerated individual to the institution.
* NB Effective September 1, 2025