Report reveals ‘serious’ mistreatment concerns inside Lakeview
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A report released this week by The Correctional Association of New York reveals "serious concerns" regarding the treatment of inmates inside the walls of the Lakeview Correctional Facility in Brocton.
Observations and findings from the one day visit to the prison in April 2025 were conducted as part of the Association's oversight mandate. During the visit, representatives interviewed individuals in the Shock Incarceration Program, court-ordered 90-day Drug Treatment Program, and a Step-Down Program for individuals transitioning from restrictive housing.
Key findings revealed in the report include:
-- Allegations of pervasive mistreatment by staff as 91% of interviewees reported seeing or experiencing verbal, physical, or sexual abuse by staff. About 76% of respondents reported witnessing or experiencing racialized abuse by staff at the prison. Reports of abuse and discriminatory treatment by staff at Lakeview were the highest among all facilities recently visited by CANY.
-- Allegations of excessive "physical training" as punishment for minor infractions. Individuals described being required to assume stress positions such as standing and drinking water without being permitted to use the toilet.
-- Unaddressed medical and dental needs. Lakeview ranked the second lowest in reports of unaddressed medical or dental needs among recently visited facilities and 32 percentage points below the average across facilities visited between May 2024 and April 2025.
“Allegations of excessive physical training, verbal and physical abuse, and untreated medical conditions raise serious concerns about whether Lakeview is achieving the intended therapeutic goals of the Shock, drug treatment, and step-down programs,” said Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York (CANY). “CANY recommends that DOCCS engage an independent outside agency to thoroughly evaluate the program models, staff practices, and overall institutional culture at Lakeview and that the Inspector General carry out an investigation into allegations of the use of stress positions as punishment."
Lakeview operates the only remaining Shock Incarceration Program for males and females in the state. CANY representatives also met with facility leadership, union representatives, medical staff, the Incarcerated Liaison Committee and the Incarcerated Grievance Resolution Committee. Following the visit, CANY staff held a conference call with the Office of Mental Health (OMH) staff. CANY representatives conducted visual observations of housing areas, the mess hall, the visiting area, the program building, and the infirmary.
Also in its report, CANY documented significant gaps between the perspectives of staff, who described Lakeview as a uniquely therapeutic environment, and the experiences of many incarcerated respondents, who described experiencing humiliation, abuse, and fear. Its visit came months after the unauthorized work stoppage and its aftermath -- including the termination of 113 corrections officers -- that created cascading operational failures that continued to affect programming, health care delivery, and staffing.
CANY is charged with visiting and examining the state’s correctional facilities to identify and report on prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated individuals, and the administration of policy promulgated by the executive and legislature. Founded in 1844 by concerned citizens of the state and deputized by the state to provide monitoring and oversight of the state's prisons in 1846, CANY is one of the first organizations in the country prescribed to administer civilian oversight of prisons.
The full report can be viewed at: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/62f1552c1dd65741c53bbcf8/t/6a70502397dc353374c69b3f/1785745443235/CANY_Lakeview_PVB_080326.pdf