Kate Lisa is reporting for Johnson Newspaper Corp six upstate correctional facilities will close next winter after union officials representing state corrections staff met with the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision leaders early November 8. The six prison facilities to permanently close in early 2022 include Downstate Correctional, in Fishkill, Dutchess County; Ogdensburg Correctional, in Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County; Southport Correctional, Pine City, Chemung County; Rochester Correctional, Monroe County; Willard Drug Treatment Campus, Seneca County; and Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, in Mineville, Essex County. DOCCS spokesperson Thomas Mailey said, “New York state continues to be at the forefront of some of the nation’s most progressive criminal justice reforms by spearheading smart and fair policies that have resulted in a drastic decline in the incarcerated population.” Mailey said DOCCS had carefully reviewed operations at 50 correctional facilities statewide for potential closure. The review was based on a variety of factors including, physical infrastructure, program offerings, facility security level, specialized medical and mental health services, the proximity of other facilities and more. “If people have been paying attention to the past decade of poor decisions made by our elected leaders in Albany, today’s news shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone,” New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association President Michael Powers said in a statement. “The state’s progressive policies are costly and need to be funded somehow. Sadly, it’s at the expense of the hard-working men and women of NYSCOPBA.” As of November 8, the total incarcerated population in state correctional facilities was 31,469, a reduction of more than 12,700 people since Jan. 1, 2020, and a 56 percent decline since 1999, Mailey said. DOCCS will offer impacted employees voluntary transfer or priority employment at other facilities and state agencies following the closure, and does not anticipate related layoffs, he said Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.