November 9, 2026
Contact: media@correctionalassociation.org
Updated statistics show increases in incarcerated population and statewide releases alongside persistent staff vacancies
Brooklyn, NY – The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today announced an update to its Staffing, Under Custody, and Releases from Custody dashboards, incorporating recent data received from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). Today’s updates are also reflected on CANY’s prison map page.
The newly updated dashboards show a slight improvement in the DOCCS staff vacancy rate, down one percentage point from 25% to 24%. This drop was largely caused by the elimination of 737 budgeted positions between April and August 2026, even as the number of actual DOCCS employees fell by roughly 280. The dashboards also show that overall population in DOCCS custody is 3 percent higher now than it was a year ago, and that the number of releases year over year has increased by 5.3 percent.
Other key findings include:
Population Under Custody Rises: There were 33,807 people incarcerated in New York State prisons as of October 1, 2026, a 3 percent increase over this time last year when the population was 32,971.
Increase in Releases: 2,755 individuals were released in the third quarter of 2026, a 3.1 percent increase from the previous quarter.
Systemwide Staffing Vacancies: According to staffing data as of August 10, 2026, department vacancy rates stand at 28.7 percent for Health Services, 26.2 percent for Security staff, 15.6 percent for Program Services, and 15.1 percent for Support Services.
Facility-Specific Staffing: At the facility level, Cayuga Correctional Facility led the state in vacancies for security staff (42.3 percent) and support services staff (31.7 percent). Meanwhile, health services vacancies were highest at Collins Correctional Facility at 56.6 percent, and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility recorded the highest program services vacancy rate at 43.2 percent.
View CANY’s updated Under Custody, Staffing, and Releases from Custody data dashboards at correctionalassociation.org/data
View CANY’s Prison Map at correctionalassociation.org/monitoring/prison-map
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.
