Penal Law § 205.20

Promoting prison contraband in the second degree · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 205.20 Promoting prison contraband in the second degree.

A person is guilty of promoting prison contraband in the second degree when:

1. He knowingly and unlawfully introduces any contraband into a detention facility; or

2. Being a person confined in a detention facility, he knowingly and unlawfully makes, obtains or possesses any contraband.

Promoting prison contraband in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/205.20

In plain English

A person commits second-degree promotion of prison contraband by:

(1) knowingly and unlawfully bringing contraband into a detention facility; or
(2) while confined there, knowingly and unlawfully making, obtaining, or possessing contraband. ★

The offense is a class A misdemeanor.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.