BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — The Kings County Criminal Bar Association, a community legal organization dedicated to bettering the criminal justice system in Brooklyn, held its final continuing legal education event at the historic Brooklyn Bar Association headquarters at 123 Remsen St. on the evening of Sept. 23.
Craig Rothfeld discusses the changing landscape of the New York State Department of Corrections. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
Craig Rothfeld, founder of Inside Out Ltd., presented “The Changing Landscape of the New York State Department of Corrections.” Rothfeld is a criminologist, criminal justice advisor and advocate with a master’s degree in Criminal Justice. He represents individuals incarcerated within the custody of the New York City Department of Corrections, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and various other state departments of corrections.
Rothfeld opened his presentation with a brief historical overview. “In December 2024 and January 2025, two inmates were murdered in two different jails at two different times inside the NYS Department of Corrections,” Rothfeld said. “This set into effect a domino-daisy chain of events and, ultimately, several prison employees were indicted and have since been prosecuted, and most of them are in jail.”
He added, “The correctional officers in the NYS Department of Corrections started a wildcat strike, an illegal strike against the rules and that really created a sense of chaos.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul later ordered the National Guard into NYS prisons in response to the illegal correctional officer work stoppage. “So the system has been short-staffed now for a year and a half,” Rothfeld said. “They’ve gone on a major recruiting effort, but part of the problem is that for everyone who’s coming in, people are retiring and going out. They are also very worried about violence. It’s difficult for everybody.”
Rothfeld said that how many people are incarcerated, how long they remain incarcerated, staffing levels and prison safety speak to how New York runs its prisons.
Four pathways to earlier release
The aforementioned deaths brought renewed scrutiny to the NYS correctional system. NYS has several mechanisms that influence when incarcerated people can leave custody or have reduced supervision.
Rothfeld highlighted four pathways to earlier releases. Shock incarceration is a six-month, highly regimented program involving physical training, discipline and rehabilitation. Someone who completes shock incarceration can become eligible for earlier release, subject to the applicable sentence and eligibility rules.
Good-behavior allowance is a credit system that can reduce time served, based on good institutional behavior and satisfactory participation in assigned work or treatment programs. It can be withheld or forfeited for misconduct.