Feds tell Rikers Island to clean up its act when it comes to young inmates
The federal government has determined that authorities at Rikers Island prison regularly and violently violate the civil rights of the thousands of teenagers who pass through its doors annually.
The report discovered that a culture of violence defined the life of young inmates. This violence came either from staff of the Department of Corrections, or other inmates.
The report took particular exception to DOC officers using violence against young inmates to keep their behavior in line. It was also concerned about the readiness with which the DOC chose to use solitary confinement as a punishment for young offenders.
Many of those who were put into solitary also had mental health issues, according to the 79-page report.
Among the report's other findings is that DOC officers readily struck inmates in the head, even during verbal arguments. In one incident, a prisoner with mental health problems was beaten around the face and upper body as two other officers stood nearby.
The report determined much of this violence was made possible by lax internal regulations such as inadequate investigations into the use of force. The report also fingered the lack of an adequate system inmates could use to report abuse or other grievances as a factor in the violence.
The office of Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York compiled the findings. The report evaluated conditions at Rikers from 2011-2013, with a specific focus on violence against young inmates.
It was addressed to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and two other high-ranking officials, including the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, Bill Ponte. Ponte just recently assumed the position, so while the wrongdoing may not necessarily be his responsibility, ensuring that the issues are fixed most certainly is.
Rikers Island handles 100,000 inmates annually. On a given day, there are around 14,000 inmates in the prison facilities on the 400-acre island.
