CANY Releases 2026 Recommendations to Improve Safety and Modernize New York State Prisons
January 8, 2026
Contact: media@correctionalassociation.org
BROOKLYN, NY – The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today released its 2026 Recommendations to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). The report provides a critical assessment of the challenges facing New York’s prisons following a year marked by volatility and violence.
CANY’s 2026 recommendations introduce new strategies to leverage technological advances while reinforcing previous recommendations to address the root causes of violence and improve living and working conditions systemwide. Highlighting the "archaic" nature of current prison operations, CANY’s central recommendation for 2026 is the expansion of tablet technology to serve as a tool for improving communication, transparency, and accountability. The report also reflects on a year of significant reforms, noting that DOCCS has recently enacted several prior CANY recommendations, including:
Safety Infrastructure: Deployment of $400 million for stationary cameras and $18 million for body-worn cameras in the FY26 budget to ensure systemwide transparency.
Mental Health: The launch of the first OMH-led programming in Residential Rehabilitation Units (RRU) at Five Points, fulfilling a long-standing CANY recommendation for therapeutic intervention.
Culture Change Partnerships: Formalizing partnerships with external organizations, such as AMEND and Chicago Beyond, to conduct safety gap analyses and implement evidence-based strategies for improving the institutional culture for both staff and incarcerated individuals.
"The precarity of New York's prison system was exposed this past year by high-profile tragedies and massive disruptions to facility operations," said Jennifer Scaife, Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York (CANY). "While we have seen progress in some areas, the daily operations of these facilities remain tethered to archaic, paper-based processes that breed frustration for both staff and incarcerated people. Our 2026 recommendations provide a path to shift this culture through transparency and modernization.”
About Correctional Association of New York (CANY)
CANY, under §146, of New York’s Correction Law, is charged with visiting and examining the state's correctional facilities to identify and report on prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated individuals, and the administration of policy promulgated by the executive and legislature. Founded in 1844 by concerned citizens of the state and deputized by the state to provide monitoring and oversight of the state’s prisons in 1846, CANY is one of the first organizations in the country prescribed to administer civilian oversight of prisons.
