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Federal monitor says things are getting worse in NYC jails
By
Jessy Edwards
Published Oct 5, 2023
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Jessy Edwards
Published Oct 5, 2023
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In one week last month in city jails, there were 74 fights, 34 assaults on staff, 23 suicide attempts, 15 fires and one sexual harassment allegation, according to a new federal monitor report that slams the city and Department of Correction’s recent attempts at reform.
The status report was filed on Thursday in federal court by Federal Monitor Steve J. Martin and his team, who are charged with overseeing Rikers Island and other New York City jails under the Nuñez federal consent decree of 2015. It came on the same day another death on Rikers was reported – the ninth death in Department of Correction custody this year.
In the scathing – and sometimes disturbing – report, the monitor closely examined operations at city jails from Sept. 11 to Sept. 17 to illustrate a system he says is now characterized by a “pervasive, imminent risk of harm” to detainees and staff. The report said city and Department of Correction officials are making statements that “obfuscate and distort” the current state of the city's jails.
The Adams administration currently faces a federal takeover of Rikers. In total, 28 Department of Correction detainees have died since Mayor Eric Adams' inauguration in January 2022, and the city's jail system had its highest detainee death rate in a quarter-century last year.
The Department of Correction and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A still shot from video inside Rikers shows the scene after a detainee punched a correction officer, knocking him down, then repeatedly slamming his head and upper torso against the ground. Another detainee is seen here intervening to stop the attack.
Via federal monitor report
Progress at NYC jails is unraveling, as transparency dwindles, monitor says
In the 61-page report, Martin took aim at Correction Commissioner Louis Molina and his department, saying they made “little to no progress” in making city jails safer, while avoiding transparency.
“Conditions have appreciably deteriorated over the past two months such that the glimmers of progress that had been observed previously are unraveling,” Martin wrote.
He cited a number of examples of city officials manipulating statistics or failing to report violent incidents. He also said Molina asked his team not to file its May 26 report, which included details of five disturbing new incidents, and that Molina had attempted to influence his reporting on a recent staff demotion.
“These examples, and those outlined in prior monitor’s reports, raise grave concerns about the commissioner’s commitment to transparency and reform.”
A still shot from video inside Rikers shows a detainee throwing scalding water on another detainee causing second-degree burns.
Via federal monitor report
The big issues
These are the some of the biggest problems our troubled jail system currently faces, according to the monitor:
- Leaders failing to take responsibility: This was the No. 1 issue the monitor named. Martin says the department continues to shirk responsibility for the issues in the jails, instead blaming prior administrations and the pandemic, without taking ownership of the problems.
- Slashings/stabbings: Slashings and stabbings have spiked in the past two months. In August and September there were 91 slashings and stabbings, reflecting a 30% increase from 2022, and reversing a downward trajectory from earlier in the year.
- Self-harm by detainees: There were 380 reports of self harm or attempted suicides in city jails from April 6 to July 31, and correction staff “generally fail” to treat the incidents as they should by urgently responding to self-harm or supervising people after a suicide attempt.
- Violence: All of the security and violence indicators like assaults on staff, slashings and fights in city jails remain alarmingly high, the monitor said, and the department still lacks effective plans to reduce violence or make the jails safer. Basic security practices such as securing doors, ensuring officers are at their posts, using force properly, and intervening in incidents in a timely manner are still lacking.
- Staff using “high-impact force”: The monitor said staff are still overusing “high-impact force” and head strikes, pointing to an Aug. 9 example of an officer throwing a restrained detainee into a railing where he hit his head with full force.
- Violent housing units: Two Rikers Island housing units are still mired in violence, which makes them unsanitary and difficult to properly staff. Meanwhile, a unit opened in June for people who have engaged in serious violence is “chaotic, violent and unsafe,” with high staff turnover. The monitor describes a detainee throwing scalding water on another on Sept. 11, which sent the victim to hospital for six days with second-degree burns. In another incident, a correction officer was seen observing a detainee get punched in the head, which left him “dragging his feet in an unusual manner.” After he collapsed, an officer was seen on video stepping over him without acknowledging him, according to the report.
- Contraband: Dangerous weapons are readily available to people in custody, and first-hand observation by the monitoring team revealed “rampant” drug use behind bars. In one week in September, staff recovered 13 makeshift knives and dozens of pieces of paper, Bible pages, books and envelopes soaked in drugs.
- Staff morale: The monitor said uniformed staff at Rikers report being tired and fearful for their safety, which is contributing to cycles of absenteeism.
- Unreliable reporting: The monitor says reporting of serious events at the jails is increasingly unreliable, and that reports about serious injuries or deaths are often delayed or never submitted.
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Jessy Edwards
Jessy Edwards covers incarceration and public safety. Before working at Gothamist/WNYC, she covered daily and breaking news at NBC New York and Brooklyn news at BK Reader. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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