Topics Criminal Justice
Gove Kathy Hochul at a podium
State Budget Gives Prisons Half-Billion-Dollar Boost While Threatening Oversight Programs

It’s unclear whether the Correctional Association of New York will have to scale back its nascent reform initiatives.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 28, 2026
A photo collage of Governor Kathy Hochul in the foreground, over a yellow-tinted photo of an Oswego Sheriff's car in the background.
Albany Reins in Police Collaboration With ICE but Doesn’t Ban Informal Cooperation

The legislation comes after months of haggling over how best to protect New Yorkers from President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Isabelle Taft   ·   May 22, 2026
Videos Reignite Fight Over Oswego County Border Patrol Calls

Footage published by New York Focus sparked a debate over deputies’ practice of calling Border Patrol on Spanish-speaking drivers.

Sammy Sussman   ·   May 21, 2026
Image of a legislative chamber with many empty chairs.
Jail Oversight Body Hamstrung Until Hochul Staffs Its Leadership

The governor has yet to nominate heads of the State Commission of Correction, which now lacks a quorum.

Chris Gelardi   ·   May 18, 2026
Visitors bundled up against the cold stand in line outdoors in the early morning before visiting starts at Five Points Correctional Facility, on Nov. 22, 2025.
‘I Just Need to Hug Him’: Families Say New York Is Illegally Delaying Prison Transfers

The prison system often postpones or rejects incarcerated people’s requests to be closer to their children, jeopardizing family ties.

Indy Scholtens   ·   May 14, 2026
A train pulls into the Bedford Hills Metro North station.
Controversial Security Leader Transferred From Women’s Prison After Outcry

Michel Blot was reassigned from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to Sing Sing after prisoners and advocates raised concerns.

Rebecca McCray   ·   May 11, 2026
A screenshot from a police body camera shows a person in a car, his face obscured by the officer's hands holding a phone. The caption shows the officer saying "Is there a border patrol that speaks Spanish?"
Videos Show Upstate Cops Calling Border Patrol on Drivers

Oswego County sheriff’s deputies held drivers for up to 45 minutes as they waited for immigration agents, potentially breaking the law.

Sammy Sussman and Liv Veazey   ·   May 7, 2026
Immigration Talks Hit Impasse After Hochul’s Latest Proposal

Hochul’s counter would limit informal collusion with ICE only in civil matters.

Liv Veazey and Isabelle Taft   ·   April 29, 2026
Watchdog Calls on State to Address Youth Prison Crisis, Citing New York Focus Reporting

A federally mandated child welfare oversight body has called on the Office of Children and Family Services to curtail facilities’ use of isolation and increase transparency.

Chris Gelardi   ·   April 17, 2026
Bill Seeks to Prevent Prisons From Turning Away Visitors After Scanners Pick Up Their Tampons

The bill follows reporting from New York Focus and other news outlets on prison staff mistaking menstrual and contraceptive products for hidden contraband.

Chris Gelardi and Raina Lipsitz   ·   March 19, 2026
Screenshots of documents the prison system sent in response to New York Focus's public records requests.
New York Focus Is Suing the State Prison Agency

Prison officials have refused to release crucial records on how the agency handles allegations of sexual abuse.

Nick Pinto   ·   March 17, 2026
State Legislature Proposes Major Boost to Immigrant Legal Services

The governor and legislature are negotiating over immigration legislation outside of the budget process.

Liv Veazey   ·   March 11, 2026
A Quieter Budget Battle on Criminal Justice and Prison Reform

Amid a crisis in the state’s prison system, the governor’s and legislature’s budget proposals differ, but largely lack major reforms.

Chris Gelardi   ·   March 10, 2026
Lawmakers Call for Investigation Into Women’s Prison, Citing New York Focus Article

Two women have died by suicide and a third from cancer at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, the reporting found.

Rebecca McCray   ·   March 10, 2026
Third Death in Four Weeks Rocks Bedford Hills Women’s Prison

This week’s death, which incarcerated people and advocates described as a suicide, comes at a time of turmoil in the facility.

Rebecca McCray   ·   March 5, 2026
An illustration shows figures walking along next to a barbed wire fence, a large pile of paperwork, a person in a green prison uniform lying down with a book on top of them, a guard holding a baton stick and a woman in a red suit waving her hand while standing at a podium.
It’s Dangerous to Feel This Desperate: How to Ease the Chaos in New York’s Prisons

When the governor doesn’t commute sentences, and the legislature won’t act, the carrot-and-stick system of rehabilitation disintegrates.

John J. Lennon   ·   March 3, 2026
Top Horse Racing Investigator Resigns After New York Focus Investigation

The investigator was initially placed on leave after New York Focus revealed that state gaming regulators ignored evidence of a massive horse doping ring.

Sam Mellins   ·   February 20, 2026
State Prison Officials Said an Employee Accused of Sexual Assault Didn’t Exist. We Found Him.

The state rescinded its request to dismiss a sexual abuse lawsuit after a judge became aware of New York Focus’s findings.

Chris Gelardi   ·   February 20, 2026
Photo collage of a desk with a notepad and voice recorder in a newsroom.
Hochul Seeks to Reverse Funding Increase for Prison Oversight Body

Last year, after prison guards were caught beating an incarcerated man to death, Governor Hochul allocated millions to a prison oversight body. This year, she doesn’t want to renew the grant.

Chris Gelardi   ·   February 17, 2026
ICE Collaboration and Prisons in Crisis: Four Questions for State Law Enforcement

A hearing Thursday gives lawmakers an opportunity to grill police and prison leaders.

Chris Gelardi   ·   February 11, 2026
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