Research

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of archival copies of the publicly accessible websites of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and its predecessor agency, the New York State Department of Correctional Services.

B2202-07: This accretion contains a copy of the main Department of Correctional Services site produced on December 26, 2006, shortly before Governor George E. Pataki (1995-2006) left office. It contains information about the department's mission and organization, press releases (1997-2006), newsletters (2003-2004), a list of departmental research reports (1991-2006), a listing and maps of state correctional facilities, information about the department's online Inmate Population Search database, and an April 2006 report on prison safety. Also included are directives (2000-2006) outlining departmental policies of interest to inmates, their families, and the general public: visiting inmates, inmate mail and telephone privileges, religious programs and practices, academic programs, marriage during confinement, sexual abuse prevention, volunteer programs, and correctional facility tours.

This accretion also includes a December 26, 2006 copy of the Department of Correctional Services Inmate Population Search site. Researchers should note that, owing to the limitations of Web archiving technology, most of the information contained within this site could not be captured properly. Moreover, as of August 2021, this partial copy was temporarily inaccessible.

B2202-08: This accretion contains a copy of the main Department of Correctional Services site produced on April 28, 2008, shortly after the resignation of Governor Eliot L. Spitzer (2007-2008). It contains background information about the department and additional press releases (1997-2008), newsletters (2003-2004, 2007), and departmental research reports (2006-2008). Also present are listings of older reports (1991-2006) and information (in English and Spanish) for crime victims and families of inmates. Also included are fact sheets (2007-2008) detailing new departmental programs and directives (2000-2006) outlining departmental policies of interest to inmates, their families, and the general public.

This accretion also includes an April 28, 2008 copy of the Department of Correctional Services Inmate Population Search site. Researchers should note that, owing to the limitations of Web archiving technology, only some of the information contained in this site could be captured properly.

B2202-10: This accretion contains a copy of the Department of Correctional Services website produced on December 15, 2010, shortly before Governor David A. Paterson (2008-2010) left office. Some of the information included in this copy is present in older versions of the site, but it contains additional press releases (1997-2010), newsletters (2003-2004, 2007-2010), departmental research reports (2005-2010), and commissioner speeches and testimony (2007-2010). Departmental rules and regulations (2007-2010) and newer fact sheets (2007-2010) detailing new departmental programs and directives outlining departmental policies of interest to inmates, their families, and the general public are also present.

This accretion also includes a December 26, 2010 copy of the department's the Department of Correctional Services Inmate Population Search site. Researchers should note that, owing to the limitations of Web archiving technology, most of the information captured in this site could not be captured properly.

B2202-13: This accretion consists of copies of three pages of the Departments of Corrections and Community Supervision site produced on May 3, 2013, shortly before the retirement of Commissioner Brian Fischer. The Biography page contains a brief summary of the commissioner's career and accomplishments, and the Speeches by Commissioner Brian Fischer page contains the text of speeches (2007-2013) that Commissioner Fischer delivered at training academy graduation ceremonies, memorial services, professional conferences, and other events. The Testimony by Commissioner Brian Fischer page contains the text of testimony (2007-2013) that Fischer delivered in hearings held by numerous legslative committees.

B2202-15: This accretion contains a copy of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision website produced on February 11, 2015, shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo (2011- ) completed his first term of office. It contains additional press releases (1997-2015), newsletters (2003-2004, 2007-2010), departmental research reports (2002-2014), commissioner speeches and testimony (2007-2014), and departmental rules and regulations (2007-2013). Also present are a listing of directives by facility, a list of reportable contracts with outside agencies (2006-2019), fact sheets (2007-2015), and a handbook for families and friends of inmates (2013) in English and in Spanish. Information about programs and services for inmates includes materials relating to the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.

Also included in this accretion is a copy of the department's Inmate Population Information Search site (copied February 9, 2015) which contains the search form used to look up inmate information. Researchers should note that, owing to the structure of the live site and the limits of Web archiving technology, only the home page of the site could be captured.

B2202-20: This accretion contains a copy of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) website produced on February 18, 2020, during the third term of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. It contains background information about the department's mission and leadership, including speeches (2015-2019) and testimony (2015-2020) given by the department's commissioner, and press releases (2018-2020). It also contains information about programs and services for inmates, information of interest to inmates' families and friends, and information about services for crime victims. Also present are the department's "DOCCS Today" newsletter (2018-2019) and reports (2013-2018), recidivism research (2002-2009), offender population statistics, Prison Rape Elimination Act reports (2013-2016), and facility audits (2015-2019).

Information relating to the department's Community Supervision Unit (formerly the Division of Parole within the Executive Department), which maintained its own website as of 2015, includes information about the Board of Parole, the parole application process, appeals of board decisions, and the DOCCS directive (2015) governing the board's operations. Also included is a parolee handbook (English and Spanish) and information about the parole application process, appeals, revocation, certificates of relief and good conduct, restoration of voting rights, and petitioning for executive clemency.

Researchers should note that owing to the structure of the live site and the limitations of web archiving technology, some information about inmate service and programs, information about some DOCCS facilities and administrative units, some reports, and some press releases could not be captured properly. However, using the "Filter" option that appears on the left side of the webpages presenting these resources will retrieve additional information.

This accretion also includes February 25, 2020 copies of the department's Inmate Lookup and Parolee Lookup websites. Owing to their structure and the limitations of Web archiving technology, only the home pages of these sites could be captured properly.