New York Laws
Article 10 - Sex Offenders Requiring Civil Commitment or Supervision
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.