Rockland County Sheriff's Office Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge settles it at the first court hearing, called the arraignment. Across New York, that hearing tends to come about 24 hours after the arrest. Rockland has no city courts, so it usually takes place in the town or village justice court for the spot where police made the arrest. Felony cases climb to County Court later.

The judge has to weigh this one person's facts and ask a single question: will they flee the case? Then the judge issues a "securing order" and gives the reasons, spoken in court or written down (CPL 510.10(1)). A lawyer stands with the person at this point, at no cost if money is tight (CPL 510.10(2)).

Plenty of people skip the cell entirely. For most charges lower than a class D felony, officers are supposed to hand over an appearance ticket instead, which lists a day to show up in court, and let the person leave. Exceptions include family violence charges and open warrants (CPL 150.20). To find out which court has the case, phone the jail at 845-638-5600.

A securing order is simply the ruling on where someone stays while the case goes on (CPL 500.10(5)). New York judges pick from four:

• Recognizance. Nothing is paid. A signed promise to return is enough. For most charges, judges must begin here (CPL 510.10(3)).
• Nonmonetary conditions. Home, but with rules, such as reporting to a program, keeping clear of a witness or turning in a passport. Nobody can bill the person for these rules (CPL 500.10(3-a)).
• Bail. Money or a bond the court keeps until the case is over, then gives back if no date was missed. Only qualifying offenses allow it.
• Remand. Held with no way to buy release. Only a qualifying felony allows it (CPL 510.10(4)).

Electronic monitoring is a condition too. Before ordering an ankle monitor, the judge holds a hearing, and each order expires after 60 days unless a judge renews it after a new review (CPL 510.40(4)).

There is no printed price list in New York. Each judge sets the number by weighing the charge, past convictions and what the family could post without real hardship (CPL 510.10(1)). Charges sort roughly like this:

• Violations and traffic tickets: almost always a court date and no jail.
• Typical misdemeanors, like petit larceny or a first DWI: the law says release, either on a pledge or with rules.
• Most nonviolent felonies, including many drug and theft cases: release is the rule here as well.
• Qualifying offenses, like violent felonies, violating a family order of protection, or witness tampering: money bail or remand becomes possible.
• The top class of felony, or a record with two prior felonies: the local justice has no power over bail here. A County Court judge decides (CPL 530.20(2)).

State figures for 2024 tell the story for town and village benches beyond the five boroughs. About 75% of people went home on a promise, 5% got conditions, 13% had bail set and 7% were remanded. For a dollar figure in a real case, ring the court that held the arraignment, or County Court at 845-483-8310.

The correctional facility sits at 55 New Hempstead Road, New City, NY 10956. Staff in the Corrections Division answer 845-638-5600. Work through this list:

1. Phone before driving over. Give the name and birth date, then ask the amount and the bail forms the judge listed.
2. Ask what hours bail is taken that day and which door to use.
3. Carry two valid IDs, and one must have your picture. The jail takes a driver's license, passport, voter card, military ID or sportsman license. An original or certified birth or marriage paper works too.
4. Paying by check? Only a certified bank check works, made out to "The Sheriff of Rockland County." Every other type of check gets refused.
5. Sign the bail paperwork and hold on to the receipt. Once bail is deposited, New York law requires release right away (CPL 520.15).

Yes. Under CPL 520.15(1), three places can accept cash bail: the court that fixed it, the county treasurer, and the sheriff with custody. Phone the court ahead so you show up with a form of payment it takes.

• County and Supreme Court, Rockland County Courthouse, 1 South Main Street, New City, NY 10956, 845-483-8310. Weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed state holidays.
• Town justice courts. All five towns keep a court. Ramapo's, as one example, is at 237 Route 59, Suffern, NY 10901, 845-357-5100, extension 902, with its window open 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on business days.

A few town courts let people settle tickets and fines on the web or over the phone. Ramapo points to an outside payment site plus a 24-hour line, 888-604-7888, and both add fees. Those tools are described for fines, so check with the court before using one for bail.

The Sheriff's Office sets one firm rule: checks must be certified bank checks payable to "The Sheriff of Rockland County," and nothing else in check form is taken. Bring two IDs, one showing your face.

New York also counts a credit card as a lawful way to post bail (CPL 520.10(1)). Whether the window takes cash, a card or a money order on a given shift is something only staff can answer, so dial 845-638-5600 first.

• Commissary money and phone account money can't cover bail.
• A real court or jail will not request gift cards, payment apps or crypto. Treat that kind of request as a scam.
• Mailing cash is never safe.

Every bail agent working in the state needs a license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). Their fee, called the premium, has a ceiling (Insurance Law § 6804):

• 10% on the first $3,000 of the bond.
• 8% on the slice between $3,000 and $10,000.
• 6% on whatever is above $10,000.

That puts a $4,000 bond at $380 or less, and a $10,000 bond at $860 or less. Agents normally keep the premium. Still, DFS says it can be refunded in full within 14 days if the jail never lets the person out, or a judge frees them without money bail. Collateral, an item of value pledged as a backup, ought to stay reasonable, and DFS calls 10% of the bond a fair example. The agent owes it back no more than 45 days after the court's exoneration papers arrive, and you are owed a signed receipt every time money or property changes hands.

Look up an agent on the DFS license search first. Problems can be reported on the state complaint form.

Each bail belongs to one case. Before you hand over money, have jail staff at 845-638-5600 list every hold on file. These come up often:

• Other charges. A separate court might want its own bail, or might have signed a bench warrant.
• Probation or parole. A violation hold can stand by itself. The county Probation Department is at 11 New Hempstead Road, New City, NY 10956, 845-638-5544.
• Waiting on state prison. The facility also keeps sentenced people who are ready to transfer to the state.
• Federal or immigration holds. State bail leaves both in place.

Remand means no bail at all. A judge can use it only for a qualifying felony (CPL 510.10(4)). That group covers violent felonies, class A felonies, felony sex crimes, terrorism, crimes said to have caused a death, and certain felonies committed while on probation or out on a pending case.

A local court can't free someone on a felony until the District Attorney has a chance to speak. The judge also gets a record check first (CPL 530.20(2)).

There is a clock, too. Jailed on a felony complaint? After 120 hours without a preliminary hearing or a grand jury indictment, the person must be let out. When a Saturday, Sunday or holiday falls inside the window, the limit grows to 144 hours (CPL 180.80).

The prosecutor asking for bail or remand works at the Rockland County District Attorney's Office, 1 South Main Street, Suite 500, New City, NY 10956, 845-638-5001.

The defense lawyer handles this, and there are two roads:

1. Go back to the arraigning judge. At the next date, the lawyer can bring pay stubs, a lease, relatives nearby, or the true sum the family can gather.
2. Go up one level. If a town or village court refused release or set bail that looks too steep, the lawyer gets one application to a County or Supreme Court judge (CPL 530.30). That judge can trim the bail or allow release with rules.

A defendant may also ask for a tiny, token bail, and the judge has to grant a request made freely (CPL 510.10(5)). The higher court is at 1 South Main Street, New City, NY 10956, 845-483-8310. Later in a case, a judge may weigh options like the Sheriff's community service program, reached at 845-638-5609.

A person charged with a crime who can't pay for a lawyer is given one, and state law aims to have that lawyer at the arraignment (Executive Law § 832(4)). Each county builds its own system (County Law § 722). In Rockland, the Public Defender's Office does this work:

• 11 New Hempstead Road, New City, NY 10956, 845-638-5660, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Email: InfoPD@co.rockland.ny.us

State standards assume someone qualifies when household income falls below 250% of the federal poverty line, or when they are behind bars. Money a husband or wife earns does not count against them. A judge has the last word, but the court can appoint a lawyer right away while it decides. If the office has a conflict, ask the judge or court clerk who will step in.

No city courts operate in the county. Felony cases finish at the courthouse in New City, while local courts take everything else.

• County Court and Supreme Court: 1 South Main Street, New City, NY 10956, 845-483-8310
• Family Court: 1 South Main Street, Suite 300, New City, NY 10956, 845-483-8210
• Clarkstown Justice Court: 20 Maple Avenue, New City, NY 10956, 845-639-5960
• Town of Haverstraw Justice Court: One Rosman Road, Garnerville, NY 10923, 845-947-0020
• Orangetown Justice Court: 26 W. Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, NY 10962, 845-359-5100
• Ramapo Justice Court: 237 Route 59, Suffern, NY 10901, 845-357-5100
• Stony Point Justice Court: 6 Patriot Hills Drive, Stony Point, NY 10980, 845-786-2506
• Village courts with their own clerk line: Chestnut Ridge, 277 Old Nyack Turnpike, Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977, 845-425-3108; Haverstraw Village, 40 New Main Street, Haverstraw, NY 10927, 845-947-4063; Nyack, 9 North Broadway, Nyack, NY 10960, 845-358-4464; Piermont, 478 Piermont Avenue, Piermont, NY 10968, 845-252-1250; Spring Valley, 200 North Main Street, Spring Valley, NY 10977, 845-573-5820; Suffern, 61 Washington Avenue, Suffern, NY 10901, 845-357-6424.

Airmont, Hillburn, Montebello, New Hempstead, New Square, Sloatsburg, Wesley Hills and West Haverstraw each have a village justice as well. For those courts, try the state court finder or the courthouse switchboard at 845-483-8300.

Posted cash still belongs to whoever put it up, unless a judge forfeits it (CPL 520.15). Courts in the Ninth Judicial District handle refunds this way:

• Charges all dismissed, or a not guilty verdict: every dollar is returned.
• A conviction: the court holds back 3%, a charge called poundage, and returns the rest.
• Whoever is named on the bail receipt must bring that original slip plus a picture ID to the clerk. Payment comes as a check, never cash.

Skipping court is what puts bail at risk. A missed date with no good reason leads to forfeiture (CPL 540.10). A judge may cancel that loss when the person returns before the final hearing with an excuse that holds up. Past that point, a motion to recover the money has a one-year deadline (CPL 540.30). For refund questions, call County Court at 845-483-8310, or call the local court that accepted the money.

Sort out leftover cash and personal things ahead of release if possible. The facility is at 55 New Hempstead Road, New City, NY 10956. Phone 845-638-5600 and ask three things: how leftover account money gets returned, what hours items can be claimed, and who besides the person may claim them.

Carry a photo ID. Picking up for someone else? Ask whether the jail wants a signed permission note. Our jail account guide covers the usual deposit and refund setup.

Federal crimes charged here belong to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in its White Plains building: the Charles L. Brieant Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse, 300 Quarropas Street, White Plains, NY 10601, 914-390-4100. The clerk keeps weekday hours from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• A federal judge runs a detention hearing at the opening court date and rules on custody or home until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• The judge reads a report from Pretrial Services, which looks into the person's background. The White Plains branch is at 300 Quarropas Street, Room 449, White Plains, NY 10601, 914-390-4140.
• A federal defendant denied release answers to deputy marshals of the U.S. Marshals Service until trial. The district office is at 500 Pearl Street, Suite 400, New York, NY 10007, 646-563-9800. Its staff can say which jail is holding someone.
• After sentencing, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator for them.

Not at all. Immigration holds sit outside the state bail system. The usual sequence:

1. Federal immigration officers, known as ICE, deliver Form I-247A to the jail, asking staff to hold onto the person.
2. That request covers up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Rockland pickups are handled by the agency's field office in Manhattan, 26 Federal Plaza, 9th Floor, Suite 9-110, New York, NY 10278, 212-436-9315. Some end up as far away as the Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center, 4250 Federal Drive, Batavia, NY 14020.
4. Type the A-number, or the name plus birth country, into the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

State law changes how much a local jail does. A 2018 Second Department opinion, People ex rel. Wells v DeMarco, makes clear that local officers lack state-law power to arrest anyone just for a civil immigration violation. Executive Law § 170-k, passed in the 2026 budget, made every 287(g) agreement void starting August 25, 2026. New York's Attorney General tells local agencies to honor one only if a judge signed a warrant for it. Civil Rights Law § 28 also shields people on their way to or from court from civil arrest, absent a judge's warrant or court order.

Felony terms beyond a year fall under the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). Sentenced people remain on New Hempstead Road while paperwork marks them "state ready." From that point, DOCCS must collect them within ten business days. Next, a reception center runs tests and sorts each new arrival before assigning a prison.

• Use the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup with a name or the DIN, an ID number kept for the full term.
• Each prison is described in our New York state prisons guide.
• During business hours, DOCCS helps families find someone at 518-457-5000.

Raise the Age, phased in during 2018 and 2019, reshaped youth cases. When police accuse a 16- or 17-year-old of a felony, the case opens in County Court's Youth Part. Nonviolent ones usually shift over to Family Court inside 30 days, unless the District Attorney proves extraordinary circumstances (CPL 722.23). Youths arrested on misdemeanors are steered to probation intake rather than an adult courtroom.

• Officers must contact a parent at once after taking a child into custody (Family Court Act § 305.2).
• Adolescent offenders are kept apart from adults, in a specialized secure juvenile setting.
• A child held before any Family Court petition must go before a judge inside 72 hours, or at the next court session if one opens sooner, (Family Court Act § 307.3).

Family Court is at 1 South Main Street, Suite 300, New City, NY 10956, 845-483-8210. Probation, at 845-638-5544, can tell parents where a youth is being held.