There are approximately 35,000 people under active parole supervision in New York State who at almost any time can see their efforts to successfully rejoin the workforce and reintegrate into their families and their communities disrupted by reincarceration for a technical violation. This not only harms individual lives and families without commensurate public safety gains, but also drives up the population in the state prisons and local jails, wasting taxpayer money.
New York imprisons more people for non-criminal “technical” violations of parole like missing an appointment with a parole officer, being late for curfew, or testing positive for alcohol and other drugs than any state in the country.
The Less Is More Act was passed by the New York legislature in June and on September 17, 2021, Governor Hochul signed the bill into law. Most provisions take effect March 1, 2022 and it will be fully implemented by July 2022, but there is a provision that allows for the full and immediate implementation of #LessIsMoreNY before the effective date.