N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 10.10: Treatment and confinement

§ 10.10 Treatment and confinement.

(a) If the respondent is found to be a dangerous sex offender

requiring confinement and committed to a secure treatment facility, that

facility shall provide care, treatment, and control of the respondent

until such time that a court discharges the respondent in accordance

with the provisions of this article.

(b) The commissioner shall, for persons committed pursuant to this

article, develop and implement a treatment plan in accordance with the

provisions of section 29.13 of this chapter. The commissioner shall give

due regard to any relevant standards, guidelines, and best practices

recommended by the office of sex offender management.

(c) The commissioner, or the commissioner of the department of

corrections and community supervision, or other government entity

responsible for the care and custody of respondents, shall be authorized

to employ appropriate safety and security measures, as he or she deems

necessary to ensure the safety of the public, during court proceedings

and in the transport of persons committed or undergoing any proceedings

under this article. Such commissioner shall provide training in the use

of safe and appropriate security interventions to employees responsible

for transporting persons under this article.

(d) The commissioner shall have the discretion to enter into

agreements with the department of corrections and community supervision

for the provision of security services relating to this article.

(e) Persons in the custody of the commissioner pursuant to this

article shall be kept separate from other persons in the care, custody

and control of the commissioner, and shall be segregated from such other

persons, provided, however, that persons committed or subject to

proceedings under this article need not be segregated from other sex

offenders committed or subject to proceedings under this article,

article nine of this title, or section four hundred two of the

correction law. If any dangerous sex offenders requiring confinement are

committed to a secure treatment facility located on the grounds of a

correctional facility, they shall be kept separate from persons in

custody as a result of criminal cases, and shall be segregated from such

persons. Occasional instances of supervised, incidental contact between

persons required by this subdivision to be segregated shall not be

considered a violation of such segregation requirements.

(f) In accordance with security procedures developed by the

commissioner, a person committed under this article may be granted an

escorted privilege by the director of the secure treatment facility in

which he or she is receiving care and treatment but only for the

purposes of allowing the person to receive medical or dental care or

treatment not available at the facility, to visit a family member who is

seriously ill or to attend the funeral of a family member. A person

granted an escorted privilege shall be under the constant supervision of

one or more facility employees who have been designated by the

commissioner or other specially trained personnel approved by the

commissioner to provide care and supervision of such persons.

(g) If a person is in the custody of the commissioner pursuant to an

order issued under this article, and such person escapes from custody,

notice of such escape shall be given as soon as the facility staff

learns of such escape, and shall include such information as will

adequately identify the escaped individual, any person or persons

believed to be in danger, and the nature of the danger. Such notice

shall be given by any means reasonably calculated to give prompt actual

notice, and shall be given to:

(1) the district attorney of the county where the person was

convicted, adjudicated, or charged; the attorney general; and counsel

for respondent or the mental hygiene legal service;

(2) the superintendent of the state police;

(3) the sheriff of the county where the escape occurred;

(4) the police department having jurisdiction of the area where the

escape occurred;

(5) any victim or victims who submitted the notification form

described in subdivision four of section 380.50 of the criminal

procedure law;

(6) any person the facility staff reasonably believes could be in

danger;

(7) any law enforcement agency and any person the facility staff

believes would be able to apprise such victim or victims that the person

escaped from the facility; and

(8) any other person the committing court may designate.

(h) The person may be apprehended, restrained, transported, and

returned to the facility from which he or she escaped by any police

officer or peace officer, and it shall be the duty of such officer to

assist any representative of the commissioner to take the person into

custody upon the request of such representative.

(i) The commissioner shall submit to the governor and the legislature

no later than December first of each year, a report on the

implementation of this article. Such report shall include, but not be

limited to, the census of each existing treatment facility, the number

of persons reviewed by the case review teams for proceedings under this

article, the number of persons committed pursuant to this article, their

crimes of conviction, and projected future capacity needs.