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Violence rising, staff quitting Bronx juvenile detention center: Report
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Apr 28, 2023
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Bahar Ostadan/Gothamist
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Apr 28, 2023
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Brutally violent attacks at a Bronx juvenile detention center increased last year, pushing staffers to quit in droves, according to a federal monitor report published on Wednesday.
There were 14 attacks at the Horizon Juvenile Detention Center in 2022 that left young detainees with serious injuries — up from eight in 2021, according to the report.
There are roughly 100 young people jailed at Horizon, according to the state census and the agency running the facility, the Administration for Children’s Services.
The overall number of attacks at the center that left victims with less serious injuries fell last year — but violent outbursts detailed in the report paint a picture of chaos in its residence halls.
Gothamist previously reported a network of staffers at the city’s juvenile detention centers who smuggle in contraband like Percocet, promethazine, liquor, cannabis, cash and razor blades tucked into wads of chewed gum.
The report published this week details even more problems, including an outburst last year during which a detainee stole keys from a staff member to access another residence hall.
“During the attack, a youth strangled a staff member to unconsciousness, and threated (sic) to cut another staff member’s throat by placing a sharpened object close to his neck,” the report said.
The spike in violence at the facility came amid an exodus of staffers. The report shows 90 employees at Horizon resigned last year, up from 78 resignations in 2021.
The report says Horizon had filled just 60% to 70% of its staff positions last year, and 38% of the staffers who were on the payroll were out on sick leave — often due to work-related injuries.
Many staffers work overtime four or five times a week, leaving them with 16-hour shifts, the report said.
The federal monitor report covers just one of the city’s two juvenile detention centers, run by ACS.
Employees at the city’s other juvenile center — Crossroads Juvenile Detention Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn — said a similar problem persists there. A staffer who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the press said earlier this month a group of detainees slashed a 16-year-old detainee’s back from his shoulder to his buttocks.
“I have never seen anything like that in my life,” he said.
Other sources inside the center confirmed the details of the attack.
Records show the attacker — who is 19 — was arrested and sent to Rikers Island.
“We take the safety of the youth in our care and our hard-working staff in detention very seriously,” ACS spokesperson Marisa Kaufman said when asked for comment about the attack.
The report describes several other violent attacks at the Bronx center last year, including ones that resulted in serious cuts to detainees’ faces, necks and wrists. In one attack detailed in the report, a detainee attempted to assault another person with a 1-foot-long metal shank.
“The presence of drugs in any facility — particularly if staff are responsible, even in part — has serious consequences for the quality of supervision, staff-youth dynamics, and the extent to which staff trust each other and are able to work as a cohesive unit,” the report said.
In response to the violence, ACS said it has made several efforts to improve safety. The agency reduced the number of staff who carry keys and now requires all employees to wear duty belts securing their keys with new detention-grade key rings.
“ACS is pleased that the Monitors recognized our new strong leadership, ‘the important strides in reducing the rate of violence at Horizon,’ the safety improvements, our substantial efforts to provide an array of programming to youth at Horizon, and ‘the significant amount of growth and improved practice,'" said Kaufman, the ACS spokesperson. "We are grateful to our staff for all they do every day, and we will continue to collaborate with the Monitors in good faith, as we work to further increase staffing levels and see to the safety of youth and staff.”
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new york city
public safety
bronx
Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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