Andrew Cuomo and Acting DOCCS Commissioner Anthony Annucci from the volunteer group Books Through Bars, which donates books to inmates, states the vendors' book selection is limited to вЂњfiveВ romanceВ novels,В fourteen BiblesВ andВ otherВ religiousВ texts, twentyВfourВ drawingВ orВ coloringВ books,В twentyВ-oneВ puzzleВ books,В elevenВ guitar,В chess,В and howВtoВ books,В oneВ dictionary,В andВ oneВ thesaurus.вЂќ The items all appear to be in see-through or sealed packages that are nonmetallic.ДЄnother concern over the new restrictions centers on a lack of diversity in reading material.ДЄ letter to Gov. Walkenhorst, another vendor, offers Bibles for $7.50, decks of playing cards, a subscription to People magazine for $6.90 as well as 3 Musketeers candy bars, Cheese Nips and Spam. 'The department is behind the times in its implementation of this program which will ultimately save lives and protect our members.'Д®-Ford Commissary offers packages of Lil Dutch Maid Coconut Macaroon cookies for $2.10, boxes of instant coffee, sneakers, a copy of the QuвЂ™ran for $26 and a clear, see-through cassette player for $29.95. The use of a secure vendor package program 'is making a difference for our fellow correction officers around the country,' said Michael Powers, president of NYSCOPBA. In April, DOCCS instituted a rule that prison employees had to use state-issued clear plastic bags for personal items such as lunches they bring inside.Д¬alling contraband a growing problem that endangers the lives of everyone in a correctional facility, the union that represents correction officers supports the state corrections department's efforts to eliminate the introduction of contraband through package rooms. The escape, authorities said, was aided by tools that had been hidden in pieces of frozen meat brought into the prison as well as tools smuggled by a guard. Matt was eventually shot and killed while Sweat was shot, injured and returned to prison. The escape triggered a massive search and created a national spectacle. The packaging program is the latest of several steps that DOCCS has taken since the June 2015 escape of two inmates from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.Д¬onvicted killers David Sweat and Richard Matt escaped through an inactive steam pipe underneath the prison. ThatвЂ™s because the prisons wouldnвЂ™t have to send back items that arenвЂ™t allowed. He said that using the vendors with a pre-approved list of allowable items could actually make it easier for families to get care packages to relatives who are incarcerated. вЂњSecure vendor programs are used by nearly 30 jurisdictions in the country and are cited as a national best practice,вЂќ he said, adding that the state gets no commissions on the sales. Thomas Mailey, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said the agency has been developing the plan during the past two years to reduce contraband brought into the prisons. The approved companies are big players in the private prison service industry: E-Ford Commissary Access Securepak Union Supply JL Marcus Walkenhorst and Music by Mail, with two more to be added in the next few weeks.

Items currently brought into prisons are thoroughly inspected, which is a time-consuming process. Many inmates, he said, rely on care packages for their meals rather than eating prison food.Д«eck also believes it is a cost savings for the state because controlling the flow of packages reduces the need for inspections, which requires manpower. The policy is in effect in three prisons: Green Haven, Greene and Taconic, but will be phased in at all New York prisons by next year, officials said.Д¬ritics like Beck say that will make it harder for prisoners to get fresh fruit and vegetables as well as books and items like sheets and towels. Instead they must order them from a pre-approved list of vendors that specialize in inmate needs. вЂњWe are doing everything we can to stop it,вЂќ said Judith Brink of the Prison Action Network, which has launched a letter-writing campaign.ДЄt issue is a new policy in which friends and family members of state prison inmates can no longer directly send care packages of food, books, clothing and other items. вЂњPeople are very upset and families are upset,вЂќ said Jack Beck, who runs the Prisoner Visiting project at the Correctional Association of New York, a group that advocates for better prison conditions.

Icare packages for inmates