In what plans to be a very revealing open hearing this Monday, November 14, the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services will hear reports on the implementation of the Nuñez settlement in the City jails. The case Nuñez v. City of New York et. al., is a class action lawsuit that challenged the use of force against individuals held in the City jails. Third-party monitoring of the implementation of the consent judgment began in October 2015, so we have reached a year of monitoring in the city jails. This hearing will be an incredibly informative moment for anyone concerned about violence directed by the Department of Correction (DOC) employees against individuals held in the NYC jails.
If you wish to come on Monday: Please come to 250 Broadway, Manhattan at 10am. Individuals attending will need to go through metal detectors in order to get to the 16th floor. We do not know at this time if you need to show an ID. We do not anticipate there being time for public comment.
On Tuesday, the Board of Correction will finally be voting on whether to adopt a final rule on the prevention of sexual violence within the NYC jails. You can see the full agenda for the meeting here. Tuesday’s vote is the product of over a year of organizing by SRLP members and clients along with many allied organizations and community members. SRLP is still analyzing the final rule to determine where it is well-crafted for our community’s safety and where further protections are needed. The full rule can be found here.
If you wish to come on Tuesday: Please join SRLP and our allies at 8:15 am for a rally on the steps of 125 Worth Street in Manhattan before the hearing! Or, at 9 am join us at the Board of Correction Meeting in the 2nd Floor Auditorium at 125 Worth Street. Individuals attending will need to go through metal detectors in order to get to the 2nd floor. You do not need to show an ID.
More information on the rally from the Jails Action Coalition below:
RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE TO END RAPE ON RIKERS ISLAND!
Survivors of Sexual Violence and Advocates Encourage New Yorkers to Embrace Justice
WHAT: On Tuesday November 15, 2016 the New York City Board of Correction (BOC) will discuss and vote on the Final Rule to Detect, Prevent and Respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment of persons incarcerated in New York City Department of Correction jails. Because this is one of the most important issues confronting the women and men in custody, we urge all to have their voices heard, both to urge adoption of the Final Rule, but to demand the revisions that are needed.
WHO: Survivors of sexual violence, Kathy Morse, Xena Grandicelli, women’s rights advocates, jail reform advocates, transgender and gender non-conforming advocates, abolitionist organizers, and other community members, leaders, et al.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 15 at 8:15 AM
WHERE: Steps of 125 Worth st., New York, NY 10003
WHY: The Rules must be strengthened before they are adopted. Among other changes we demand:
• Despite BOC’s acknowledgement that only 5 out of 294 allegations of staff on inmate sexual abuse were substantiated between 2013-2015, among other omissions the proposed Final Rules contain no provision for:
• Consideration of enhanced monitoring of staff that returns to duty following one—or even many—allegations of abuse.
• Adoption of our reasonable suggestions to improve investigations—including requiring that Departmental investigations of correction officer abuse be conducted by civilian staff, and that weight be given to alleged patterns of misconduct, something allowed even in criminal prosecutions.
• Clearly requiring that camera footage be maintained let alone for long enough that the understandable reluctance of sexual abuse victims to report can be addressed.
• Transparency: while the rules require substantial reporting to BOC, they do not require that the information about the abuse—from the gender of the victim or the purported abuser to whether there were prior allegations of abuse involving the staff person—be made public.
• Requiring that genitalia not be dispositive as to where transgender persons are housed, they do not require any specific protections for those transgender women confined in a male facility, where they remain at extraordinary risk. Nor do they require that training for staff assigned to guard transgender prisoners be completed until 2020, four years from now.
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