The City Council yesterday approved a legislative package of eight bills concerning important issues facing New York City’s Department of Correction. The Council is calling for more transparency regarding the city’s jails.
Introduction 643-A will require the DOC to report the number of inmates who have been sentenced to a segregated housing unit but are still waiting for a unit to become available. The report will include separate categories for units that house mentally ill inmates. The bill will also require the DOC to report how many inmates have been considered unfit to stand trial and are still waiting to be placed by the New York State Department of Health or Office of People with Developmental Disabilities, as well as the units in which they are placed. Reports will be filed every 60 days to determine how long inmates wait to be placed.
Introduction 784-A will require the DOC to distribute documents to new inmates that outline their rights and responsibilities plainly. These rights must also be summarized and read to each inmate in his or her primary language. The “Crossroads” handbook, a guide to social services for released inmates published by the New York City Library, will be made available.
Introduction 766-A will require the DOC to report on the demographic population of its inmates. These factors include age, gender, race, borough where the inmate was arresting, educational background, and whether or not the inmate is a security risk.
The DOC will have to publicly post its rules on the use of force by staff on inmates, according to Introduction 767-A.
Inmates will have to be included in the new Enhanced Segregation Housing unit, according to Introduction 768-A. This report will be a part of the existing quarterly reports concerning inmate conditions in punitive segregation housing.
Brooklyn Council Member Inez Barron sponsored Introduction 758-A, which focuses on the DOC’s inmate grievance system. Inmates use the system to report on jail conditions or services, but not complaints of violence or abuse. Advocates say the system is greatly underutilized.
Under Barron’s bill, the DOC must report how many grievances were filed and separate the complaints by facility, housing area, and category. The report must include the number of grievances that were resolved during each stage of the process. If the grievance was dismissed, the DOC must provide the reasons for the dismissal.
“The hearings held by the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services this year, highlighted that there are many areas involving inmate life that need to be more closely scrutinized. The Department of Corrections was unable to produce hard data about many of the circumstances regarding inmates. Intro 758 will require DOC to post quarterly reports regarding inmates’ grievances, status of their grievance and the resolution or dismissal of their grievance. The report will also require that this information be disaggregated by various categories throughout individual facilities,” said Barron
Introduction 753-A requires the office of criminal justice to publish a report on the issues of using jail in the criminal justice system. The report will include the number of people in jail, the charges and their severity, and the length of pre-trial incarceration and sentences. In regards to bail, the report must state bail amounts, how often bail is set, what amounts of bail are set and how often bail is posted. The report must also include the results of setting bail, including how often those who post bail miss court dates, how often those who are released without bail miss court dates, how bails affects case outcomes, and how the use of bail relates to crime rates by borough. The report will state all information both in total and on average.
Introduction 766-A requires the DOC to track the number of visits jail inmates receive, both in total and individually. The report will separate the visits by facilities on Rikers Island and those outside the Island. The report will also differentiate between professional visits, such as attorney visits, and personal visits by family and friends. If a visit is denied, the DOC must report the reasons behind the denial.
