N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 8000.5

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 17, April 24, 2024

Section 8000.5 - Parole records

(a) The division shall cause to be obtained and filed, as soon as practicable, information as complete as may be obtainable with regard to each inmate who is received in an institution under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Correctional Services, including a complete statement of the crime for which the inmate has been sentenced, the circumstances of such crime, all presentence memoranda, the nature of the sentence, the court in which he was sentenced, the name of the judge and district attorney, and copies of such probation reports as may have been made, as well as reports as to the inmate's social, physical, mental and psychiatric condition and history.

(b) The division shall cause complete records to be kept of every person on parole or conditional release. Such records shall contain the aliases and photographs of each person and the information referred to in subdivision (a) of this section, as well as all reports of parole officers in relation to such persons.

(c) Access to case records maintained by the Division of Parole.

(1) An inmate, a releasee or counsel for either may have access to information contained in the parole case record:

(i) prior to a scheduled appearance before the board;

(ii) prior to a scheduled appearance before an authorized hearing officer of the division; or

(iii) prior to the timely perfecting of an administrative appeal of a final decision of the board.

(2) In that it is essential to protect the internal process by which division personnel assist the board in formulating individual decisions with respect to inmates and releasees; to prevent disclosures of information to inmates and releasees that would jeopardize legitimate correctional interests of security, custody, supervision or rehabilitation; to permit receipt of relevant information regarding such persons from other Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies, and Federal and State probation and judicial offices; to permit private citizens to express freely their opinions for or against an individual's parole; to allow relevant criminal history type information of codefendants to be kept; to allow medical, psychiatric and sociological material to be available to professional staff; and to permit a candid process of factual analysis, opinion formulation, evaluation and recommendation to be continued by professional staff: the following conditions and limitations are imposed regarding access to information in the parole case record pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision.

(i) Access shall be granted only to those portions of the case record which will be considered by the board or authorized hearing officer at a hearing or pursuant to an administrative appeal of a final decision of the board, except:

(a) access shall not be granted to those portions of the case record to the extent that they contain:

(1) diagnostic opinions which, if known to the inmate/releasee, could lead to a serious disruption of his institutional program or supervision;

(2) materials which would reveal sources of information obtained upon a promise of confidentiality;

(3) any information which if disclosed might result in harm, physical or otherwise, to any person;

(b) access by the Division of Parole shall not be granted to reports, documents and materials of other agencies, including but not limited to probation reports, drug abuse and alcoholism rehabilitation records, and the DCJS report.

(ii) Any record of the Division of Parole not made available pursuant to this section shall not be released, except by the chairman upon good cause shown.

(3) Requests for access to case records prior to an appearance before the board or an authorized hearing officer, or prior to the timely perfecting of an administrative appeal, shall be made in writing to the:

(i) senior parole officer, or parole officer in charge, of the State correctional facility where the inmate/releasee is confined; or

(ii) director of the area parole office serving the locale where the releasee is confined in a city or county jail or correctional facility; at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of a final revocation hearing or the final date to perfect an administrative appeal, and at most one day subsequent to receipt of notice of the scheduled date of any other hearing.

(4) All requests by counsel on behalf of an inmate/releasee for access to case records must be accompanied by a signed authorization from such inmate/releasee, in which a waiver of his/her privacy interest is clearly stated.

(5) For the purpose of access to case records, the senior parole officer or parole officer in charge at an institution, or the director of an area parole office or such other professional staff person(s) designated by one of the above persons, shall be the records access officer.

(6) Review of those portions of the case record to which access is granted may take place on the day of the hearing or earlier at the:

(i) State institution where the inmate/releasee is confined; or

(ii) area parole office serving the locale of the city or county institution where the inmate/releasee is confined;

pursuant to arrangements made for review on any workday with records access officer or his designee.

(7) Pursuant to a review of a case record as noted in paragraph (6) of this subdivision, the inmate/releasee or counsel for either may request and receive copies of such records upon payment to the records access officer of 25 cents per page.

(8) Requests for access to case records shall state the name and identification number of the inmate/releasee, the nature of the pending hearing and the present institution of confinement.

(d) Any record of the Division of Parole not made available pursuant to this section shall not be released, except by the chairman upon good cause shown.

(e) Requests for access to records in the parole file prior to an appearance before the Board of Parole, or an authorized hearing officer, shall be made in writing to the chairman of the board at Central Office (Albany) at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the hearing.

(f) The request should identify, to the extent possible, the information to which access is sought and should state the reasons requiring such access.

(g) In addition to the forwarding of the request to Central Office, a copy of the request should be forwarded to the senior parole officer at the inmate's institution of confinement or to the director of the area parole office serving the locale of the releasee's local confinement.

(h) Review of the reports, documents and materials to which access is granted may take place at the institution where the inmate or releasee is confined on the day of the hearing or sooner, pursuant to arrangements made for such review with parole staff at the institution or in the area office where appropriate.

(i) Requests for access to records shall state the name of the inmate or releasee, the nature of the pending hearing and the present institution of confinement.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 8000.5