Patricia Crowe - Visiting and how to help

You're here because you are a friend of Pat's and want to lend support and help to her cause.

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On Saturday, June 2, 2012, Chris and I made the trek over to Taconic Correctional Facilities up in Westchester this past Saturday morning and we'd like to pass along what we've discovered. We've had to recollect much of what we learned because we were not allowed any paper or pencils while inside the visitors area. You'll have to excuse us if this document feels 'stream of consciousness'.

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One more important note: Pat has relayed that her incarceration has gone relatively smoothly DIRECTLY DUE TO THE SUPPORT SHE HAS BEEN RECEIVING FROM YOU! Many people have expressed surprise that she is getting so much mail, packages, visits, etc. The guards and other inmates treat her with respect because it is apparent Pat is cut from another cloth. So keep it up! This will likely come into play again if and when Pat gets her next chance at court. The system failed her in many ways (trust me) and I think a better effort next time will help tremendously, and we may all be a big part of that. Stay tuned.

Pat is tracked in the system using her DIN which is 12G0343. If you have that DIN, you have access to Pat. Remember that. Just in case, her full name is Patricia M Crowe.

Chris and I drove from Queens to the prison Saturday morning around 9:30 am. It's about 40 miles north and we arrived in the area within the hour. It is right off I684, exit 6, though you do have to perform a U-turn and momentarily head south in order to reach the facility. If you have a GPS or can print step-by-step directions ahead of time, it is in your best interest to do so. We did not notice any *signs* leading up to the prison.

The address and phone number of the prison is:

250 Harris Road
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2497
914-241-3010

Google map link here: http://goo.gl/maps/tUFQ

So if you were to send her mail, the proper address is:

Patricia Crowe
DIN# 12G0343
Taconic Correctional Facility
250 Harris Road
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2497

According to the NYCDOCCS website, you're supposed to call ahead to make sure she will be allowed visitors - in other words why bother trekking out there if she won't be available? But my experience calling them was not very fruitful. When I passed along Pat's DIN so they could look up her status, the woman on the other line didn't know what to do. Just a head's up.

Our drive up to the area was very short, but we bungled things by going to the WRONG prison! Believe it or not there are two prisons in the same area. As you drive on Harris Road, you'll see what we assumed was the one and only prison, (very imposing, with giant guard tower and lots of barbed wire) but in fact it is the maximum security Bedford Hills! We spent a long time going through the process of entering the facility until we were eventually told Pat was not there! Turns out there is an identical sign opposite the road that leads you to Taconic. So be aware: the first turn off Harris Road, to the RIGHT, leads you to BEDFORD HILLS prison. Instead, you want to take the opposite turn, to the LEFT, which goes up a steep hill... this leads to TACONIC!

Below are pictures that should help you visualize the whole area. I hope it is of help.


Once you make it up the entrance, you'll find visitor parking on your right. Park your car, make a final check of leaving as much of your possessions as you can in the car, and then start walking further up the road to the actual prison. These pics should help:

The initial visitor check-in room is very small, but even before you enter you have to stay in an area to the right of the front door. They are sticklers about you staying ONLY IN THAT SPOT. They will open their gated window, get your attention, and buzz you in when they're ready to process you. Once inside, you will sign some forms, etc. Be prepared before hand! You must show TWO forms of ID. We were able to use our Drivers License and our health insurance cards. No electronics of any kind allowed. No contraband, etc. I asked to bring a pencil and paper (to take notes) but was refused. You are given access to a small locker for anything you can't bring with you, like your wallet, phone, keys - BUT you will need ONE QUARTER for the use of that locker, so don't forget - if you don't have that quarter - you have no choice but to leave.

You will also at this time be handed a special envelope where you can insert $$$ (check, money order or cash) to be deposited in Pat's account. The envelope can only hold a maximum of $50. Since we were a group of two, we got two envelopes. Besides the envelope you will definitely want to bring money *INTO* the visiting area! There are vending machines available there, and you are given the opportunity to not only feed yourself but to also offer Pat some food she wouldn't normally have access to in the facility. She can't take anything back with her when she goes back into prison, so she has to eat it there. You will need SINGLES, not anything bigger as the vending machines don't accept larger bills, and if they do, it's unfortunately the OLD style bills, not the modern $5 or $10 bills. They will reject them. So best to just bring plenty of one dollar bills. Chris thinks about ten dollars worth of singles should be enough.

Once you've put away everything, you will pass through a full body scanner. If you trigger the alarm, there's a good chance you will be asked to submit to a strip search if a visible search of your person doesn't turn up anything. You of course can refuse and it doesn't count against you in a future visit, but you won't be allowed in at this moment. We saw folks get turned away for wearing skirts that were too short - they had to drive a few miles to a dept. store and buy cheap jeans. You must dress appropriately! (links below have all the details on this)

As an aside, believe it or not, every time Pat gets a visit, she is strip searched as she heads back into the prison! She has gotten used to it and does not want you to NOT visit because of it. It is just something she laughs about while discussing her predicament.

Back on topic, once you pass the scanner, you will be buzzed through outside of the processing room. You should check the map below as you will see that you must pass by a large room that is *not* correct. Again, they don't have very many signs to help. You continue past this large building and then you'll see the real entrance for visitors, to your left. Go in, hand your signed forms, they will assign you to a section, and then wait for Pat to show. You will see the vending machines here.

Visiting hours are on the weekends, from 8:30a to 2:30p. There can be max 4 people at any one time. You can stay as long as you (or Pat!) want. While visiting, Pat must always make herself visible to the guards - if you block their view of Pat, they will get suspicious! At times, they will make the outside visiting area available so you can sit on a bench in the shade. Anyone can come, not just family. They never tell her who is waiting for her so you will always be a surprise to her (unless you correspond beforehand to setup a date/time for the visit). They have only one mandatory 'duty' during the day and that is roll call which occurs at 11 am and lasts until about 11:45. So if you arrive right before you'll have to wait close to an hour until you see her. We suggest you arrive earlier or in the afternoon in order to maximize you're actual time with Pat.

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Pat's life in the slammer

Pat is incarcerated with about 300 other women of all ages. This is a medium-security prison. She is not surrounded by murderers and other hardcore felons, though there are some elderly women who are serving life in prison due to murder but are now so feeble they don't require maximum security. In fact the woman who is helping her legal case is a 'lifer' and she is most thankful to this woman for putting her energies into her case. Likewise she has been doing her best to motivate the younger women to attend church with her. It has been an eye-opening experience for her, seeing the broken system up close. Yes, there is rehabilitation, etc., but the other half of one's stay in prison does nothing to support rehabilitation, it's actually the other way around... the lack of support pushes women back into their vices.

She is very thankful for all the correspondence she has received. Folks that have donated to her funds have helped her pay her outstanding legal fees and she is now able to use the funds remaining to buy essentials from the commissary.

About the Commissary.... there are very many rules, some played fast and loose, that cover this corner of her experience. The commissary is directly linked to your actions of sending her a package with gifts/supplies. Basically anything that is stocked in the commissary is very likely to be turned away when received from the outside. So since they sell stamps, they forbid you from sending her stamps (this is also due to potential drug abuse by crafty people from the outside), likewise she mentioned other things like lighters, toothpaste I believe, that would be turned away. No joke: any package you send is opened and inspected. I think this applies to actual correspondence as well. Your personal letters will be read for anything out-of-bounds. Other kind of forbidden things is liquids that could be hiding something. Like shampoo! The irony she says is that if you send a single bottle of shampoo it will be turned away, but if you go to a Costco or BJ's and purchase those mega-multi-pack of shampoos it WON'T be refused because those giant packs are vacuum-plastic-sealed so it can't be tampered with.

So if a package of yours is refused for whatever reason, three possibilities: 1) you can pick it up 2) she can pay for it to be shipped back to you or 3) it will be donated to charity.

But don't get frustrated, because there are some websites that Pat says are a good bet to send packages through to her because they are acknowledged by the prison system as reputable. The two websites she mentioned are: