The federal monitor overseeing Rikers Island has warned that the out-of-control jail system is in a “state of emergency” — insisting outside help is needed to overcome “mismanagement” and “prevalent” failings.
“We are gravely concerned that the Department has made no appreciable progress to ameliorate the dangerous conditions in the jails,” monitor Steve Martin wrote in a letter filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, hours before an emergency conference Friday.
“The current state of affairs is nothing short of an emergency posing an immediate threat to the safety and well-being of Inmates and Staff,” Martin warned Judge Laura Swain.
Noting the “long history of systemic mismanagement and dysfunction” within the city’s Department of Correction, Martin said that “conditions in the jails have significantly deteriorated in the past few months.”
So far this year, 12 people have died in custody, five of them by suicide. Reports of violence in intake areas last month were 170 percent higher than the previous August — with stabbings 450 percent higher, the monitor said.
That has revealed a “troubling and accelerated pace of mismanagement of the security operations in the jails,” he wrote.
“The harm flowing to incarcerated individuals and Staff are directly linked to and caused by the Department leadership’s failure to address a wide range of security failures,” he insisted in the letter co-signed with his deputy monitor, Anne Friedberg.
On Friday, Swain ordered the city, the monitor, and The Legal Aid Society to meet over the weekend and next week to come to an agreement on the monitor’s recommendations. Swain also ordered the parties to appear for another remote hearing next week, when they’ll settle potential disagreements they might have about the suggestions.
During a federal virtual court hearing, Martin recalled guards not reacting as a man attempted to hang himself.
“Just two days ago, I reviewed an incident in which officers within six feet of a hanging inmate that was in their direct line of sight did not detect that … and an officer walked directly in front of the cell and did not detect that,” he said Friday. “They ultimately did turn around and look at that hanging inmate and he was in serious distress.”
That came after Martin blasted Mayor Bill de Blasio’s planned reforms, including hiring more staff, reducing inmate numbers and fixing damaged doors.
Those plans “have a significant void” and “do not address the ubiquitous mismanagement and prevalent security failures within the jails.”
“Stated bluntly, the City’s and Department’s plans are not sufficient to address the imminent risk of harm to people in custody and Staff flowing from the poor operation of the jails,” Martin wrote.
“This troubling state of affairs certainly calls into question whether Department leadership possess the level of competency to safely manage the jails,” he warned.
“The Monitoring Team recommends the appointment of an external Security Operations Manager with significant expertise in correctional security,” he wrote, italicizing “external” for emphasis.
A DOC spokesperson said, “We are committed to making our facilities safe for all who live and work in them, and are working hard to improve current conditions. We agree with many of the Monitor’s recommendations. We are continuing our conversations with the Monitor over the coming days refining the recommendations, and will submit our positions to the Court on Tuesday.”