Erie County Sheriff's Office looks to turn page without federal oversight

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Erie County Sheriff Office's effort to achieve national accreditation and reintegrate inmates into the community is beginning to pay off, members of the department said in a recent interview.

The benefits of accreditation by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care include training and feedback to reduce the county's risk of health-care lawsuits and grievances, improving record keeping, and insuring adherence to all safety and health rules.

The sheriff's office, which was under federal Department of Justice oversight until June 2023, was able to improve conditions in both the Erie County Holding Center in Buffalo and the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, but remains under scrutiny due to the number of inmate deaths under its custody.

"I can't really speak to the past," said Michael Phillips, superintendent of jail management. "I can speak to what we do, and we're doing the best we can."

NCCH's website states it provides a "third party objective assessment" of correctional health care, for which it helped write the standards. By policy, NCCH does not provide a list of facilities it has accredited.

"There's over 400 standards that we have to comply with in order to get this accreditation," said Sandra Amoia, first deputy superintendent for compliance.

In addition, the sheriff's office seeks accreditation from the American Correctional Association, which offers similar training, feedback, but also helps improve morale.

Part of the improvement, the sheriff's office said, can be attributed to Project Blue, a partnership with the nonprofit Peaceprints of WNY, to reintegrate inmates once they serve their sentences.

Thomas Dina, the chief of community reintegration, said the program is designed to remove barriers for people to succeed once they exit correctional facilities. He described the program as "intensive case management" that is tailored to each inmate's specific needs.

He said since 2019, the program has assisted roughly 1,050 inmates, with a recidivism rate of 10%.

"With this post-release support in place, we're seeing dramatic improvement," Dina said.

Dina said local jails have become "defacto treatment centers" for mental health and drug abuse, but the funding has not matched the growing need.

The sheriff's office said about 60% of inmates are being treated for some type of mental illness.

"I started 23 years ago, and the type of folks that we are getting in custody today are much higher need than it was when I started, and the corrections industry as a whole is evolving to meet those needs," Dina said. "Jails are no longer being designed as a house of punishment.

They're really adopting restorative justice principles, embracing therapy and rehabilitation."

One area where the sheriff's office said it has seen an improvement is with inmate suicide attempts.

In 2021, there were 13 suicide attempts.

In 2023, suicide attempts dropped to four. And there haven't been any so far in 2024.

When inmates show signs of a mental health crisis, the sheriff's office said it is limited in where they can take them.

The sheriff's office said the number of beds it has at ECMC's behavioral health facility at the hospital should be increased. The maximum-security detention facility downtown has a capacity for 638 inmates; the correctional facility has capacity for 884 inmates.

But there are only two beds secured for inmates at ECMC's behavioral health division.

"The Erie County Sheriff's Office has expressed need for more beds, but right now there's not any funding or whatever for that," Amoia said Sandra Amoia. "Many times, there's a waiting list for those beds. We have to maintain them here."

Amoia estimated the sheriff's office could use as many as seven beds at ECMC.

In addition, the sheriff's office said it can take inmates charged with misdemeanors to Buffalo Psychiatric Center.

But inmates with felony cases must go to Rochester Psychiatric Center, and there is not always immediate availability.

"We have to wait sometimes months for them to leave our custody to go to Rochester to get stabilized," Amoia said.

The county is undergoing a needs assessment to determine if a new jail facility should be constructed. Estimates have exceeded $200 million.

"We're not going to prejudge the outcome of the needs assessment, but from all of us working in the buildings, it's time," Dina said. "These buildings need to be replaced."