Dept of Justice Accuses Rikers Is. Officials of Not Protecting Inmates From Beatings By Other Inmates or By Guards. 'Rikers Is Broken'

Julie Jacobson (Photo)      APOfficers on Rikers Island 'violate the constitutional rights of adolescent inmates,' says Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara following a two-year investigation by his office.

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N.Y. DAILY NEWS

 A Department of Justice attorney says that Rikers Island is a "broken" place, where teenage inmates undergo "serious physical harm from the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by DOC staff." According to U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Preet Bharara, a two-year investigation found that 16- to 18-year-old inmates are brutally treated, and prison guards lie or make evidence disappear to protect themselves. His findings will be sent to various New York departments with a list of 70 recommendations. Attorney General Eric Holder called the situation "unacceptable."

There is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers that violates the constitutional rights of adolescent inmates," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, announcing the findings of a two-year investigation by his office into the treatment of inmates ages 16 through 18, "most of whom have not yet been convicted of crime, and about half of whom have been diagnosed with a mental illness."
Those teens are being subjected to "a place where brute force is the first impulse rather than the last resort."



The report calls for more than 70 immediate reforms, including the installation of more security cameras, the addition of more experienced officers, and better training.



Teen inmates suffered 22 jaw fractures during the first five and half months of 2012, and suffered 239 head injuries between June of 2012 and July of 2013, the report says.
 It also notes that many of the officers who claimed to have been attacked showed no sign of any injuries.

Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily NewsU.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara speaks at a press conference on Monday.

Inmate-on-inmate violence in adolescent housing is rampant and commonplace. In fiscal year 2013, "there were 845 reported inmate-on-inmate fights," the report says.
Inmates also spend an inordinate amount of time in solitary confinement, even though half of them are struggling with mental illness, Bharara said.
They're in for "weeks, and sometimes months at a time," for rule violations, "including non-violent infractions," Bharara said.
He said that isolation can be psychologically devastating for troubled teens — but the report notes that some of the inmates are so scared of the violence in the general population that they welcome solitary.


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