CANY Releases Report Following Visit to Lakeview Correctional Facility
August 03, 2026
Contact: media@correctionalassociation.org
Monitoring Raises Concerns About Treatment from Staff, Excessive Physical Training, Medical and Dental Needs
Brooklyn, NY — The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) has released a report on Lakeview Correctional Facility, a facility housing men and women 18 years and older in Brocton, New York. The report includes observations and findings from an April 2025 monitoring visit to the prison, conducted as part of CANY’s oversight mandate pursuant to Correction Law §146(3).
During the monitoring visit, CANY representatives interviewed individuals in the Shock Incarceration Program, court-ordered 90-day Drug Treatment Program, and a Step-Down Program for individuals transitioning from restrictive housing. Lakeview operates the only remaining Shock Incarceration Program for males and females in the state. CANY representatives also met with facility leadership, union representatives, medical staff, the Incarcerated Liaison Committee (ILC) and the Incarcerated Grievance Resolution Committee (IGRC). Following the visit, CANY staff held a conference call with the Office of Mental Health (OMH) staff. CANY representatives conducted visual observations of housing areas, the mess hall, the visiting area, the program building, and the infirmary.
Key findings include:
Allegations of pervasive mistreatment by staff: 91% of interviewees reporting seeing or experiencing verbal, physical, or sexual abuse by staff and 76% of respondents reporting witnessing or experiencing racialized abuse by staff at the prison. Reports of abuse and discriminatory treatment by staff at Lakeview were the highest among all facilities recently visited by CANY.
Allegations of excessive “physical training”: Incarcerated individuals reported excessive “physical training” exercises meted out as punishment for minor infractions. Individuals described being required to assume stress positions such as standing and drinking water without being permitted to use the toilet.
Unaddressed medical and dental needs: Many respondents described unaddressed medical or dental needs and delays in being seen. Lakeview ranked the second lowest in reports of unaddressed medical or dental needs among recently visited facilities and 32 percentage points below the average across facilities visited between May 2024 and April 2025.
"Allegations of excessive physical training, verbal and physical abuse, and untreated medical conditions raise serious concerns about whether Lakeview is achieving the intended therapeutic goals of the Shock, drug treatment, and step-down programs," said Jennifer Scaife, Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York (CANY).
"CANY recommends that DOCCS engage an independent outside agency to thoroughly evaluate the program models, staff practices, and overall institutional culture at Lakeview and that the Inspector General carry out an investigation into allegations of the use of stress positions as punishment.”
The full report is available at:
About 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.
