Home Page‘Right-sizing’ makes system safer
In the late 1990’s, the Department was faced with a vexing capacity problem. But unlike the capacity shortages of the 1980’s that led to an unprecedented flurry of desperately needed medium-security construction, the pressing need more than a decade later was for maximum-security construction. At the urging of Governor Pataki, the Legislature approved the addition of 5,000 maximum-security beds, the largest such expansion in state history. The new construction was to include a mix of disciplinary and general confinement beds and called for two new prisons.
Five Points, New York’s newest prison, opened in 2000. The logic was that the long-overdue construction (along with Upstate opened in 1999) would help to 'right-size' the system.
The concept worked. The end result is a safer prison system for staff and inmates and a better and more-efficient way of operating the system.
Five Points, like Upstate, is a state-of-the art 1,500-bed facility consisting of five double-occupancy housing units. Both facilities have 750 cells. Whereas Upstate serves primarily as a disciplinary facility, Five Points is a general confinement facility. It features innovative accommodations for disabled inmates and high-tech security enhancements not found at most of the older maximum-security facilities.
Located on the grounds of the former Seneca Army Depot off Route 96 in the town of Romulus in Seneca County, Five Points, which cost $180 million to construct, is indeed an impressive sight. Some of its corridors stretch for more than a half mile, meaning staff members certainly get their exercise heading from lineup to their assigned posts. Unobtrusive as it’s set back from local thoroughfares, the compound covers 72 acres within the secure perimeter with an additional 638 acres outside.
Each of Five Points’ housing units include two floors and three wings. Four of the five units house general confinement inmates who are involved in regular daily programming and other activities. The fifth unit houses a variety of inmates with special individual needs; it also temporarily houses parolees who opted out of treatment at the nearby Willard Drug Treatment Campus and are awaiting transfers to other state prisons to complete their sentences.
The 750 cells were designed for double occupancy and have 105 square feet of interior space, making them the largest in the prison system. Each cell is equipped with a toilet and sink, and a facility-controlled shower. At only two stories, the housing units adhere to Commissioner Goord’s direction that the facility maintain as low a profile as possible.
The fact that inmates don't have to be escorted by staff from their cells to a general shower area is a big security enhancement, as less contact between inmates and staff means a reduced likelihood of assaults. Each cell at Five Points also includes an attached recreation pen that can be opened electronically by staff from the central control consoles in each housing unit. That further reduces contact between inmates and staff and has meant fewer unusual incidents when compared with other older maximum-security prisons where there’s more contact between staff and inmates.
Last year, for instance, the rate of inmate-on-staff assaults at Five Points was 12 per 1,000 inmates, compared to a rate of 21 per 1,000 inmates at the state’s other maximum-security prisons. And through June of this year, the rate of inmate-on-inmate assaults at Five Points was 15 per 1,000 inmates, compared to a rate of 21 per 1,000 inmates at the other maximum-security prisons.
Five Points is unique in that it was specifically designed with an eye toward accommodating disabled inmates, specifically those in wheelchairs. Forty-eight general population, double- bunk cells were modified to provide access to the lower bunk for the disabled. Among the in-cell modifications are handrails to help ensure the safety of disabled inmates when they're getting in or out of their beds. Additionally, mess hall seating, and the visiting room, recreation and program areas were modified to provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
There are also 24 additional cells for the disabled located in the facility’s Special Housing Unit (SHU).
Another unique aspect of massive Five Points has nothing to do with the facility itself. It concerns the odd-looking white deer that freely roam the area foraging for food. During its heyday, the Seneca Army Depot boasted a deer population estimated at some 11,000 and it had a fence surrounding the perimeter. The nature of the facility did not permit for hunting, therefore the deer roamed the grounds and, like other wild game, were somewhat protected. As the years passed the deers mutated and a number of them became white. Not to be confused with albino deer, these deer are white. They’re a frequent sight at Five Points and constantly draw curious glances from new inmates and first-time visitors.
Like many other facilities in the state, Five Points was named by Commissioner Goord in recognition of the region in which it’s located. But unlike other obvious choices like Mid-State and Upstate, it took a bit of digging before the name Five Points was decided on.
Other prison names that had been proposed by area residents included West Central, Lakes, Central New York, Seneca, Interlakes and Seneca Depot.
The name Five Points was selected by Commissioner Goord and was subsequently approved by Governor Pataki.
Several maps of the region during the 1950’s and earlier referred to an area about 15 miles north of where the prison is located as Five Points, or, in some instances, Five Corners. The area is located just north of Geneva in the town of Phelps near the border of Seneca and Ontario counties.
Research by Steven O’Malley, chief historian for the Geneva Historical Society, ascertained that the area in question, near the New York State Thruway, once featured an intersection of five roads. They were the Thruway, Route 96, Route 14, Route 318 and an old county road which headed to West Junius, a small local township. The installation of a cloverleaf intersection in the area in the early 1960’s, an architectural staple of the era, eliminated the five corners, but its legacy lives on nonetheless.
Other prison names that reflect the flavor of the area in which they're located include Eastern New York in Napanoch, Downstate in Fishkill and Mid-Orange in Warwick. There is also Lakeview near Lake Erie in Chautauqua County and Riverview in St. Lawrence County along the river of the same name.
Enhancing education, voc skills
Five Points offers a full range of academic and vocational programs to its inmates in order to provide them with the education and skills they need to ensure a successful reintegration into the community upon their eventual release from prison. And it’s a laudable mission that Five Points’ dedicated civilian staff take very seriously.
On the academic side of the ledger, Five Points offers its inmates classes in Adult Basic Education (ABE); General Education Development (GED), which is designed to have inmates obtain their high school equivalency diplomas, and English as a Second Language (ESL) for monolingual Hispanic inmates. The facility also offers a cell study program for inmates who for whatever reason are unable to leave their cells to participate in regular classroom programming.
Five Points also offers a Volunteer Tutoring program which utilizes trained Inmate Program Associates (IPAs). The paid assignment of an IPA involves assisting program services staff in the direct provision of various services to other inmates. The supervisor of volunteer services selects inmates according to the standards described in the IPA Policy and Procedure Manual, recommends placement in program services according to interest, knowledge and skills, and arranges training for all inmates involved in the program.
One of the primary goals of the program is to have trained inmates augment the efforts of program staff when it comes to providing inmates with enhanced educational skills. It also helps to save taxpayer dollars in these austere times.
As at many other facilities, Five Points offers a variety of vocational training programs. This is an attempt to provide inmates -- many of whom have never held steady, good-paying jobs to support themselves and their families -- with marketable job skills designed to help ensure that they'll be employed, law-abiding citizens upon their return to the community.
Five Points is just one of four facilities in the state to offer an appliance repair course; the other three facilities are Collins, Gowanda and Marcy. Students are versed in the use of different types of tools and testing devices such as ammeters, volt meters and pressure gauges to repair all kinds of household appliances including automatic washers, dryers, dishwashers, coffee makers, toasters, irons and food processors. The inmates learn to accurately troubleshoot defective appliances by detecting unusual noises, overheating or vibration. They also learn to trace faulty electrical connections using manufacturer parts manuals and diagrams.
Upon successful completion of the course, inmates are awarded a certificate from the state Department of Labor (DOL), attesting that they are qualified to be considered for a job in the appliance repair field. They can then apply for jobs like tool crib attendant, appliance installer, electrical tool repairer, refrigeration mechanic, gas appliance serviceman and small appliance repairer.
Five Points also offers a building maintenance program which provides inmates with the fundamental skills required to make minor repairs in such areas as carpentry, masonry, electrical wiring and plumbing. Inmates who successfully complete the course also receive a DOL certificate, making them eligible for jobs like drywall applicator, light fixture repairman, mason’s helper, tool crib attendant, electrician’s helper and inventory clerk.
A cabinetmaking course is also a popular vocational shop at Five Points, which is one of only eight facilities in the state to offer training in the time-honored craft. Completion of the course permits the inmate to seek employment as a band saw operator, furniture finisher, shaper operator, machine setter, miter sawyer and planer operator.
Other vocational courses offered at Five Points include custodial maintenance, electrical trades, horticulture, masonry and small engine repair. Through these varied offerings, it’s clear to see that a Five Points inmate who wants to get his life back on track and get a job upon release to support himself and his family has every opportunity to do just that.
Helping inmates get their lives back on track
Cognizant that most of its inmates have more than educational and vocational needs, Five Points offers a wide variety of specialized program designed to help inmates succeed on the outside.
Among other things, Five Points offers its inmates Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT). This program -- which is a minimum of six months depending on the needs of an individual inmate -- is designed for chemically-dependant inmates. It employs the therapeutic community approach as spelled out in the Department’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment (ASAT) program manual.
The primary focus is to use the concept of community as a treatment modality. The community is perceived to be the agent of change, acting in a highly organized and structured fashion designed to engage program participants in social learning. This model sets ethics of right living and recovery for the chemically dependant inmate in the parallel path of mental, emotional and physical health. Accountability to self and responsibility to others are the cornerstones to building a caring and nurturing environment to facilitate a positive change in the inmate.
The goals of the program include the development of a pro-social system that promotes positive living skills while changing negative patterns of behavior, development of a positive peer role model system and learning the dynamics of addiction and what could trigger a relapse.
Five Points is also one of 18 prisons that offers a Sex Offender Program. Group counseling is the major component of this six-month program but it also includes some individual counseling and education, depending on the needs of a specific inmate. Emphasis is placed on developing awareness of predisposing factors and alternative skills/behaviors in order to avoid deviant sexual behavior.
Admission requirements include incarceration for a sex-related crime or being found guilty at a Tier Hearing for a sexually abusive or assaultive act, a willingness to identify problems related to sexual behavior and a willingness to employ alternative thinking and behavior patterns.
Inmates who are recommended to participate in the program -- either at reception or by their counselor -- and fail to do so run the risk of losing good time, lengthening their prison stay. Five Points also offers a Special Treatment Program (STP) for seriously mentally ill inmates serving time for disciplinary infractions. The program is a collaborative effort between DOCS and the state Office of Mental Health (OMH). Inmates receive individual and small group therapy from OMH personnel under the supervision of security staff.
Teaming up to work as one
Just as with communities in other parts of the state where prisons have been built, residents of the pastoral Finger Lakes region embraced Five Points -- even before its first inmates had been transferred there.
On August 26, 2000, just days before the first busload of inmates arrived, the Department held an open house so interested local residents could tour the facility and meet their new neighbors. Approximately 8,000 curious visitors took guided tours of the facility; for the vast majority, it was the first time they had ever seen the inside of a prison. Afterward, many of them -- including a local women who said she took her young, rambunctious son to the prison to show him what could happen if he failed to listen to her -- said they were duly impressed by the tour experience and the enormity of the facility.
The tours covered three miles and lasted about an hour. Visitors were escorted by uniformed and civilian staff and got close-up views of housing units, the mess hall, the gymnasium building, the visiting area, the commissary, outside recreation yards and other areas. For many visitors, the experience resonated, and they now return to Five Points on a regular basis as registered volunteers. Helping to address the religious needs of inmates, their substance abuse problems and other issues, these volunteers assist dedicated staffers in their daily missions and help provide an additional bridge for success upon an inmate’s return to society.
Just as local residents are a key component of Five Point’s mission, Five Points employees are a key part of the local communities in which they and their families now reside. They serve as sports coaches and volunteer firefighters, sit on various municipal and community boards and unselfishly hold regular fund-raisers for their neighbors in need. They’re always willing to lend a hand, and for that the locals are grateful.
For example, Five Points employees -- like their counterparts across the state -- participate in annual Make a Difference Day activities to benefit the less fortunate.
Last year, Five Points employees continued their "Adopt a School" tradition which they began shortly after the facility opened in 2000.
The program is aimed at enhancing the educational needs of schoolchildren through the donation of needed school supplies like backpacks, notebooks, pens and pencils and printer cartridges.
Article is from DOCS TODAY August 2003