I consider it more than a little odd to find that Yelp is soliciting reviews of the B. C. Correctional Facility. On the one hand, we minor offenders don't have the luxury of choosing incarceration at the facility with the best chef or the finest bed linens or the staff of corrections officers who give the most respectful pat downs. And unlike our moronic President with the (formerly) orange hair - don't blame him, though, the fault lies with our LED bulbs - we residents of the bedint county of Broome will always find that bending over in the showers of "our" correctional facilities is risky AT BEST. On the other hand, as Shaun's very well-written and informative review illustrates, a stay in a correctional facility will often have a profoundly negative effect on one's life - at times even cutting it short. So while a poor, or even dismal, review of our area's penal digs is unlikely to prompt any improvement to their most basic elements of human accomodation, I suppose we can consider these reviews to be textual 'scared straights.' (I hope they will serve as "aides d' memoires" to keep me on the straight and narrow, and also anyone else who does not wish to repeat the experience.) It is most often the case that the most ignorant and brutal of an area's employable persons can be found inside the uniforms of penal institutions, and this is probably the case here. After all, this county is virtually filled to the brim with ugly conservatives...not at all what I expected when I moved to New York 20-odd years ago (and, BOY, have they been odd years!) My experience differed a lot from Shaun's, though, insofar as I was given the option of mowing lawns and picking up trash for the county instead of staying penned up for 20 days. The thought of being jailed in that concrete maze-like structure really gave me the creeps. And I also heard about some of the deaths that Shaun referred to. (Shaun, I'm so sorry to hear what they put you through; I hope times are better now - as good as they can be for us 99%-ers living in this little piece of Appalachia.) I do have to say that several of the corrections officers I worked for along the highways of this great land seemed like pretty decent guys, though I only got to know them slightly. I think that when one is doing outside work, it isn't too hard to keep on civil terms with them if you are respectful, follow instructions and work hard, as I did. INSIDE the facility things are not so straight-forward, as Shaun's experience attests to. All indicators point to the wisdom of avoiding all experiences with law enforcement officials. They will NEVER firmly request that your upstairs neighbors keep their (crappy) music at a non-intrusive volume, but they are on constant look-out for any minor offense that can squeeze your last couple hundred out of you to give to the county (god knows where it goes then - probably inside Sheriff Harder's secret wall safe.) Beware, and be careful. - End of Review - read more

Broome County Jail has the highest incarceration rate of any jail in NYS. There have been a number of questionable deaths over the last several years in this jail and being incarcerated here could be a death sentence. The jail is run by the corrupt Sherry David Harder who is on his 6th term of sheriff for the county. Harder has been in the past accused of illegal surveillance and improper spending of county funds yet continues to be re-elected. The jail is known for poor medical treatment, filthy living conditions, questionable deaths and a ridiculously high incarceration rate for a small county. The jail houses mostly addicts and people of color and the poor. Broome county's judges were known for imposing extremely high bails for petty crimes especially against addicts and people of color. The jail is one of the few in the state that doesn't allow addicts to continue medication assisted treatment for addiction and many have to quit methadone and suboxone cold turkey. Once released this will cause higher rates of recidivism and help keep the jail full. The 18 days I spent in the jail in 2016 were hell. I thought cruel and unusual treatment was illegal in jails but apparently not in Broome County. I was jailed on a violation for harassment and was addicted to drugs at the time. I was on methadone maintenance and denied my meds. I suffered horrible withdrawals and was treated inhumanly. I was beaten by a correctional officer for beginning to go to a hospital and suffered seizures, hallucinations and double vision from withdrawals. I wasn't taken to a hospital and only given a low dose of valium. I couldn't eat or sleep due to the withdrawals and lost 25lbs in 18 days. I received very poor medical treatment and was supposed to be released after 12 days because the maximum term for harassment is 12 days. After 12 days i asked several times a day when I could leave and nobody helped me. I thought I would die in the jail. Something needs to change in this jail. Its time to drop David Harder and fix the injustice in the system here. read more