N.Y. Correction Law 633 – Procedure for furlough release of eligible incarcerated individuals
* § 633. Procedure for furlough release of eligible incarcerated individuals. 1. A person confined in a city prison or a county jail and penitentiaries of a county which elects to have this article apply thereto who is, or who within thirty days will become, an eligible incarcerated individual, may make application to the furlough release committee of the institution for permission to participate in a furlough program.
Terms Used In N.Y. Correction Law 633
- Commissioner: means the commissioner of correction in a city having a population of one million or more or that official having similar duties in any county which elects to have this article apply thereto, by whatever title he may be known. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
- Department: means the applicable department of correction or, where no such department exists, the office of the commissioner. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
- Eligible incarcerated individual: means a person confined in a city prison or reformatory in a city having a population of one million or more or in a county jail and penitentiaries of a county which elects to have this article apply thereto where a furlough program has been established who is sentenced to a definite period of six months or more or to a reformatory sentence of imprisonment and has served a minimum of six months of any such sentence. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
- Extended bounds of confinement: means the area in which an incarcerated individual participating in a furlough program may travel, the routes he or she is permitted to use, the places he or she is authorized to visit, and the hours, days, or specially defined period during which he or she is permitted to be absent from the premises of the institution. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
- Furlough committee: means the body of persons which may include members of the public, appointed pursuant to regulations promulgated by the commissioner for the purposes of formulating, modifying and revoking furlough programs at an institution. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
- Furlough program: means a program under which eligible incarcerated individuals may be granted the privilege of leaving the premises of a prison for a period not exceeding seventy-two hours for the purpose of seeking employment, maintaining family ties, solving family problems, to undergo surgery or to receive medical treatment or dental treatment not available in the correctional institution, or for any matter necessary to the furtherance of any such purposes. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
- Institution: means any institution under the jurisdiction of the commissioner of correction in any city having a population of one million or more or of a county which elects to have this article apply thereto. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
- Warden: means the person in charge of an institution by whatever title he may be known. See N.Y. Correction Law 631
2. Any eligible incarcerated individual may make application to the furlough committee for leave of absence provided, however, that in exigent circumstances such application may be made directly to the warden of the institution and the warden may exercise all of the powers of the furlough committee subject, however, to any limitations or requirements set forth in the rules and regulations of the department and subject further to the discretion of the commissioner.
3. If the furlough committee determines that a furlough program for the applicant is consistent with the safety of the community, is in the best interests of rehabilitation of the applicant, and is consistent with the rules and regulations of the department, the committee, with the assistance of the employees designated by the commissioner pursuant to section six hundred thirty-two of this chapter, shall develop a suitable furlough program for the applicant.
4. The committee shall then prepare a memorandum setting forth the details of the furlough program including the extended bounds of confinement and any other matter required by the rules and regulations of the department. Such memorandum shall be transmitted to the warden who may approve or reject the program. If the warden approves the program, he shall indicate such approval in writing by signing the memorandum. If the warden rejects the program, such decision shall be reviewed by the commissioner.
5. In order for the applicant to accept the furlough program, he shall agree to be bound by all the terms and conditions thereof and shall indicate such agreement by signing the memorandum of the program immediately below a statement reading as follows:
"I accept the foregoing program and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions thereof. I understand I will be under the supervision of the department while I am away from the premises of the institution and I agree to comply with the instructions of any employee of the department assigned to supervise me. I will carry a copy of this memorandum on my person at all times while I am away from the premises of the institution and I will exhibit it to any peace officer or police officer upon his request. I understand that my participation in the program is a privilege which may be revoked at any time, and that if I violate any provision of the program I may be taken into custody by any peace officer or police officer and I will be subject to disciplinary procedures. I further understand that if I intentionally fail to return to the institution at or before the time specified in the memorandum I may be found guilty of a misdemeanor."
6. After approving the program of furlough, the warden may then permit an eligible incarcerated individual who has accepted such program to go outside the premises of the institution within the limits of the extended bounds of confinement described in the memorandum; provided, however, that no such permission shall become effective in the case of a furlough program prior to the time at which the person to be released becomes an eligible incarcerated individual.
7. Participation in a furlough release program shall be a privilege. Nothing contained in this article may be construed to confer upon any incarcerated individual the right to participate, or to continue to participate in a furlough program. The warden of the institution may at any time, and upon recommendation of the furlough committee or of the commissioner, revoke any incarcerated individual's privilege to participate in a program of furlough.
* NB Repealed September 1, 2025