New York Republican state Senator Dan Stec met with the superintendent of the Clinton Correctional facility in Dannemora on Tuesday to discuss what Stec says is a growing problem of contraband entering the maximum security prison.
The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, or DOCCS, is investigating a Monday incident in which six corrections officers and a nurse fell ill after responding to medical emergencies involving two inmates. Three officers received doses of Narcan and the seven were then taken to the hospital. They have been released and investigation into the cause is ongoing.
Senator Dan Stec, a Republican representing the 45th District, was at the prison the next day to discuss what he calls a contraband crisis.
“I went in there because of what had happened the day before. Contraband and these exposures, as you know, have been an ongoing problem all over our facilities,” Stec stated. “At Upstate back in January 25 people went out and then 7 went out earlier this week at Clinton. And they were in the news a couple weeks before that because they had 80 people exposed in a one-month period. So these exposures are an ongoing issue.”
Stec is a frequent critic of the Democratically controlled legislature’s approach to corrections.
“We control everything inside them and if something’s not going well it’s up to the state of New York to address it and they have refused to address it. Politically my suspicion is that they don’t want to confront or irritate the crime committers or their advocates,” Stec speculated. “And there’s so much that they could be doing. We have tools and technology available to us and they don’t want to update their laws. They’re happy to have their laws in the last century.”
NYSCOPBA is the union representing corrections officers. Northern Region Vice President John Roberts notes that the contraband substances that appear to be involved in Monday’s illnesses don’t seem to be typical illicit drugs.
“It’s not cocaine and heroin and marijuana and the normal drugs people think,” noted Roberts. “It’s compounds and synthetic drugs or sprays of different stuff that most people wouldn’t even ever consider using to get high.”
In an emailed statement to WAMC, DOCCS said it is taking a “multi-layered approach...to aggressively battle the introduction of contraband. DOCCS says this includes the deployment of 88 body scanners across the state and more “robust” screening for people entering prisons, and placing physical partitions to prevent contact between inmates and visitors.
Both Stec and Roberts say the use of body scanners has helped, but they don’t detect all substances. One strategy that could make a difference, Roberts says, is electronic mail, since it can’t be soaked in drugs, dried and then mailed to inmates in the way regular mail can.
“Technology isn’t fully picking up that stuff. The legal mail that was one of the biggest ways a lot of stuff was coming in. And the electronic legal mail, obviously there’s no narcotics through electronics,” Roberts said. “The K-9s are great. The body scanners are great. But there’s always going to be people wanting to manipulate a system.”
Complete statement from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision:
DOCCS: The health and safety of incarcerated individuals and staff is a top priority. On August 4, 2025, at Clinton Correctional Facility, six correction officers and one nurse began feeling ill after responding to two incarcerated individuals experiencing medical emergencies.
Three of the officers received doses of Narcan at the facility. All seven were alert when transported to an outside hospital and all have been released.
An investigation into what may have caused the illnesses is ongoing.
To aggressively battle the introduction of contraband, DOCCS implemented a multi layered approach.
- The Department has deployed 88 body scanners across the state for use on visitors, the incarcerated and staff.
- Effective March 22, DOCCS introduced a more robust security screening process for visitors, requiring all visitors to pass through a body image scanner in order to participate in a full-contact visit. If a visitor declines being scanned by the body image scanner, they will be processed in accordance with Directive #4403 for a non-contact visit only. This includes passing through a metal detector and/or scanning with a hand wand. Refusal to comply with the body scan or the alternate search procedure will result in the visitor not being permitted to enter the correctional facility on that specific day. If the visitor declines the body image scanner but is successfully cleared for entry through the alternative security process, they will be approved for a non-contact visit on that day.
• Non-contact visits will be limited to two (2) visitors with a maximum duration of two (2) hours.
• No physical embrace will be authorized at the beginning or conclusion of a non-contact visit.
• Physical partitions will be in place that prevent physical contact between the incarcerated individual and the visitor.
• No cross visiting will be authorized.
• The non-contact limitation will apply only to the single day the visitor declined the body image scanning.
Individuals who are pregnant will not be subject to the scanning. In those cases, they will be searched by an alternative method and not be subjected to any form of harassment, intimidation or disciplinary action. If cleared by the alternative method, they will be provided a contact visit. If not cleared by the alternative method, the Superintendent shall either limit to a non-contact visit or deny the visit for the day.
- All bags brought in by staff are checked and a random number of staff are required to pass through the metal detector each day. There is also a body scanner at the facility entrance, however, per the law, staff can opt out of the body scanner.
- To date, the Department has deployed 36 legal mail screeners. This process allows us to screen all legal mail for contraband before it is opened and will soon be implemented in all facilities.
- DOCCS has implemented a process in which all regular mail is photocopied and the copies are then delivered to the incarcerated individuals.
To further enhance safety and security, DOCCS implemented the vendor package program upon recommendation of the Prison Violence Task Force, which members of NYSCOPBA sit on, that sought to improve facility security for staff and incarcerated individuals by addressing the significant increase in the number of packages found to contain contraband drugs and weapons. The program has been very successful in reducing the amount of contraband found in incoming packages from 920 package room recoveries in 2020 to 34 recoveries in 2024, a 96 percent reduction. DOCCS Office of Special Investigations has a growing and active K9 unit that is used successfully to prevent contraband entering the state’s prisons. DOCCS currently has 27 K9 teams and a two year plan to increase the number by 14, with 7 new teams being funded in the enacted budget.
