A Report on Violence at Rikers Is to Be Kept Secret
The New York Times, November 21, 2022: A Report on Violence at Rikers Is to Be Kept Secret
“A report tracking violence at the Rikers Island jail complex in New York City will be hidden from the public, preventing people from viewing documents with statistics about assaults on staff, and incidents involving force against detainees, a federal judge has ordered.
“The judge, Laura T. Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, who is in charge of the case challenging the city’s administration of its dysfunctional jail complex in the East River, filed the order on Monday evening.
“The order will allow New York City’s Correction Department to submit a one-time confidential report analyzing jail data by Feb. 13. Such statistics include the number of weapons recovered, uniformed staffers who are out on sick leave, force-related disciplinary cases and serious injuries to both incarcerated people and correction officers.
“Steve J. Martin, an independent court-appointed monitor assigned to draw up reports on the jails, asked in a Nov. 14 letter to Judge Swain that the report remain under wraps.
“Doing so ‘allows the monitoring team the opportunity to analyze data produced by the department to provide appropriate context in order to avoid the misinterpretation or the dissemination of incomplete or confusing information,’ he said.”
Additional reading:
Gothamist, November 17, 2022: NYC taxpayers have paid a federal monitor $18 million to help fix Rikers. What went wrong?
News12, The Bronx, November 15, 2022: Law department responds to lawsuit over incarcerated New Yorkers on Rikers Island
New York City Council, November 1, 2022: Statement from Speaker Adrienne Adams on 18th Death in City Jails and Latest Violence on Rikers Island
