The number of programs offered to those held in Erie County’s jails has “significantly increased” and the frequency of deaths has decreased, but there are still major areas of concern according to a report released Tuesday by the Clergy Jail Visiting Project.
Under the project, a group of local clergy visited both the Erie County Holding Center in downtown Buffalo and the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden to speak to the people detained there. More than 100 interviews were conducted over six visits in two years, according to the report.
The project made use of a provision under New York State law which allows certain elected officials and clergy of all faiths into local jails.
Organizer Stephen Hart explains the ethos behind the conversations with those incarcerated, most of whom are awaiting trial.
"Some people would say that people inside, you know, just lie and complain," Hart said. "However our project starts from a more neutral conviction about what they're saying, or maybe a more positive one - that the incarcerated people are as fully human as people outside and deserve to have their dignity and human rights respected."
The report credited Erie County Sheriff John Garcia for boosting the number of programs available for those detained, such as Project Blue - a program run jointly by the Sheriff's Department and Peaceprints of WNY to prevent the "jail-to-prison pipeline," according to the Erie County Sheriff's website.
One person is known to have died in custody in 2025, which the report cites under "major areas of achievement." Last year, Investigative Post reported that 57 people have died in Erie County jails since 2005.
The clergy report lists five major areas of concern including racial justice, small quantities of food, the standard of medical care and religious discrimination.
Inequalities between women and men were also noted, including work program opportunities. Women also described having to ask for menstrual products one at a time, usually from a male officer.
Rabbi Alex Lazarus-Klein spoke to both staff and incarcerated people for the project, which he saw as "holy work." He observed the difference between the men and women’s sections in the downtown holding center.
"When we went to the men's section, it was open. The inmates had a chance to move around freely when they had an opportunity and there was TV there and such. But the women's section wasn't anything like that. It was so horrific I can't even describe," he said.
The report offers recommendations, including increasing work programs for women and addressing a "shortfall" in medical staff.
In a statement, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia did not directly address questions on the report’s findings, but said his department is “deeply grateful” to the project for recognizing improvements in the Jail Management and Correctional Health Divisions.
"Because of the hard work of our staff, we continue to make meaningful strides in offering modern correctional services that emphasize rehabilitation and reentry," he said via email.
He added he will review the report's content and recommendations.
