New York state to close four more prisons by next year

New York state corrections officials announced Friday plans to close four more Upstate prisons a year from now, citing a big reduction in drug offenders. They contend that the move will save taxpayers more than $30 million annually. 

The state closure plan includes one minimum-security facility in Schuyler County and three medium-security prisons in Wayne, Franklin, and Saratoga counties.

“The dramatic reduction in drug offenders has resulted in shrinking populations at these prisons. …With the changing demographics of the inmate population and the steep decline in imprisoned drug offenders, these facilities no longer fulfill the same Department need they once did,” the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said in a news release.

The department says the four prisons will close on July 26, 2014. The jails currently have 685 employees total and 1,024 inmates.

The closure plan proposes preventing layoffs by transferring employees to other nearby prisons or other state agencies, according to the department.