{"id":358623,"date":"2026-09-28T09:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/358623\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T09:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:54:10","slug":"suspected-overdoses-soar-in-new-york-prisons-despite-mail-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/358623\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspected Overdoses Soar in New York Prisons Despite Mail Crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York\u2019s crackdown on physical mail in state prisons<\/a> was supposed to help stem the flow of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs behind bars.<\/p>\n

But the number of times prison staff administered Narcan after suspected overdoses jumped 51% last year, while fatal overdoses<\/a> remain well above the level recorded before the mail restrictions, according to Department of Corrections and Community Supervision data compiled by the Correctional Association of New York.<\/p>\n

In August 2021, prison officials banned most physical mail, arguing that drug-laced letters and packages were a major source of contraband.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, overdose deaths have risen from two in 2021 to 11 in 2022, six in 2023 and 12 in each of the past two years, the data reveals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The latest figures are being interpreted in different ways by prison officials, civil rights advocates and correction officers\u2019 unions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AThe use of Narcan, which can reverse an opioid overdose, jumped by more than half in the state prison system. Credit: Alex Krales\/THE CITY<\/p>\n

Prison reform advocates are calling on the state to reconsider the mail restrictions, arguing that they have failed to stop drugs from reaching incarcerated people while imposing unnecessary limits on their ability to communicate with family and friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They note that all visitors are required to walk through body scanners in each of the state\u2019s 41 facilities while officers can simply decide if they want to be screened. (State law prevents the department from forcing correction officers to go through body scanners; they can refuse \u201cfor medical or other reasons\u201d and opt for alternative methods of screening.)<\/p>\n

\u201cMake that make sense,\u201d said Michelle Bonet, who founded the advocacy group NYS DOCCS Federal Oversight<\/a> to help incarcerated people and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very clear that contraband is an issue,\u201d she added, \u201cand it is very clear that (prison officials) utilize it as a means to impose measures that then justify what they are doing to the incarcerated people as part of a fearmongering campaign, completely dominated by the union.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole March, a DOCCS spokesperson, defended the mail restriction, and said there is \u201cno one reason for the changes in the overdose deaths from year to year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The types of drugs and how they are used \u201chave changed\u201d over the years, she added. Some prisoners now smoke paper soaked in drugs, an issue that has plagued lockups throughout the country.<\/p>\n

As a result, the department has strengthened its \u201ccontraband interdiction efforts\u201d by boosting screening and investigative measures, March said.<\/p>\n

James Miller, a spokesperson for the New York State Correction Officers Benevolent Association, did not respond to an email seeking comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Dangerous for Everyone\u2019<\/p>\n

In April, the union sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a> saying the department was in a \u201csystemic emergency,\u201d citing several incidents of officers injured by prisoners \u2014 and via contact with unknown drugs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not normal,\u201d the union\u2019s letter said. \u201cThese are not routine disciplinary issues. They are unmistakable warning signs of a correctional system under extreme pressure \u2014 one that is becoming increasingly unstable and dangerous for everyone who lives and works behind the walls.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The most recent data covers 2025, when thousands of state correction officers went on strike<\/a> after several of their colleagues were indicted for their alleged roles in fatally beating a handcuffed prisoner, Robert Brooks<\/a>, in a prison infirmary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The department says it fired 2,000 officers who refused to come back to work and it hasn\u2019t been able to replace and augment many of them yet. Earlier this month, there were approximately 3,000 National Guard members providing support in 32 state correctional facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MORE: Follow The City Reporter\u2019s Award-Winning Coverage of NY\u2019s Jails and Prisons<\/a><\/p>\n

The lack of staff has meant people are spending a lot more time in their cells because there\u2019s not enough officers to supervise out of cell time, said Sumeet Sharma<\/a>, the Director of Policy and Communications for the Correctional Association of New York (CANY).\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the Coxsackie Correctional Facility, prisoners are only leaving their cells for a little over an hour for recreation time each day, a recent CANY review found.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that people being confined to their cells for a long time has an impact on their mental health,\u201d said Sharma. \u201cAnecdotally, people told us that spending a lot of time in their cells means people have nothing to do, and then look to use substances or take other actions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As for the increase in Narcan use, March, a DOCCS spokesperson, noted that department staff are instructed to administer the potentially lifesaving medication \u201cwhenever an individual is found unresponsive, regardless of the suspected cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she also acknowledged that intoxications and overdoses have increased throughout the department\u2019s 41 facilities, contributing to the rise in Narcan use.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe state Department of Correction displays a drone used in a thwarted attempt to deliver contraband behind prison walls at Marcy Correctional Facility, March 14, 2026. Credit: New York State DOCCS<\/p>\n

One prison expert suggested the state take a more targeted approach, limiting mail restrictions to facilities where drug overdoses and contraband have gone up.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlocking paper does help, at least initially,\u201d Dean Williams, who formerly headed prison systems in Alaska and Colorado, told The City Reporter. \u201cIt interrupts the established or routine way drugs have been funneled into prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Williams said he tried to avoid using such restrictions as a form of collective punishment unless absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n

As an alternative, he blocked physical mail at prisons with high rates of drug smuggling while allowing homemade letters at other facilities.<\/p>\n

Smuggler\u2019s Tales<\/p>\n

The approach raises a basic question: Where are the drugs coming from?<\/p>\n

The New York prison system \u2014 like most correctional systems around the country \u2014 has never conducted a comprehensive review of how drugs enter its facilities.<\/p>\n

But experts say it is clear that drugs aren\u2019t coming exclusively through the mail or from visitors. During the height of the pandemic, when prison visits were canceled for months, drugs and other contraband continued to make their way<\/a> into lockups.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that one corrupt staff could do tremendous damage,\u201d Williams said. \u201cTherefore, my team took a very aggressive stance on the investigation side of the equation.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York State has some recent examples.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In March, a correction officer at Cayuga Correctional Facility, a medium security prison near Syracuse, was arrested<\/a> after a drug-detection dog caught him with about 28 grams of cocaine and 10 grams of heroin packaged in roughly 50 paper sleeves, according to police.<\/p>\n

In another recent case, a former correction officer at Woodbourne Correctional Facility was indicted on allegations that he repeatedly smuggled methamphetamine and cellphones into the prison in exchange for money, according to the Sullivan County district attorney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fewer Prison Assaults<\/p>\n

The recent New York data wasn\u2019t all bad news.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The number of so-called unusual incidents \u2014 including everything from assaults on prisoners and staff to attempted escapes \u2014\u00a0 across the state prison system fell 9% in 2025.<\/p>\n

And, the number of assaults on correction officers fell 15%, while assaults on incarcerated people declined 11%.<\/p>\n

Contraband incidents also decreased by 9%, including a 17% drop in weapons-related contraband.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MORE: The Price of Prison Abuse: $25.7 Million in New York Settlements<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fantastic news,\u201d said Michele Deitch<\/a>, director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are all great indicators,\u201d she added. \u201cIs it a long-term trend? Is it a blip? We don\u2019t know. And why is it happening at this point?\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of assaults went down, in part, because all officers now have body cameras and there are fewer interactions between officers and prisoners because so many people are stuck in their cells for longer periods due to staff shortages, according to CANY\u2019s Sharma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you just have less people coming into contact with each other,\u201d he said, \u201cI would imagine that that would lead to less unusual incidents, especially when it comes to assaults.\u201d<\/p>\n

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