The Department of Justice recently released a report. In it:
We primarily focused on practices and conduct during the period 2011 through the end of 2013. We reviewed hundreds of thousands of pages of records from both DOC and the Department of Health and Mental Health (“DOHMH”), which is responsible for providing medical services to inmates at Rikers.
These records included, among other things, use of force investigative files, inmate medical records, policies and procedures, training materials, disciplinary records, programmatic materials related specifically to adolescent inmates, and other data. We identified a sample of approximately 200 use of force incidents involving adolescent inmates, and specifically requested all records related to these incidents, including use of force reports, investigative reports andfiles, video surveillance, inmate medical records, and records relating to any disciplinary action taken against involved inmates or staff.
Their findings?
We conclude that there is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers that violates the constitutional rights of adolescent inmates. In particular, we find that adolescent inmates at Rikers are not adequately protected from harm, including serious physical harm from the rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force by DOC staff. In addition, adolescent inmates are not adequately protected from harm caused by violence inflicted by other inmates, including inmate-on-inmate fights. Indeed, we find that a deep-seated culture of violence is pervasive throughout the adolescent facilities at Rikers, and DOC staff routinely utilize force not as a last resort, but instead as a means to control the adolescent population and punish disorderly or disrespectful behavior.
This may be filed in the "What did you expect?" section of our collective minds, but this is very specific proof that our prison system is promoting violence and not rehabilitating anyone.
Here's a highlight:
Headshots are commonplace at Rikers. We have identified numerous incidents where correction officers struck adolescents repeatedly in the head or face, often causing significant injuries. Based on our review of use of force incidents, inmate interviews, and other information, it is clear that headshots are not limited to situations where staff or others face an imminent risk of serious bodily injury. As discussed further below, staff too often strike inmates in the head or face to punish them for their prior conduct.
And just so you get an understanding of the limits of the research:
Based on a review of Department 24-hour reports from October 2012 through early April 2014, we identified 64 incidents involving blows to an adolescent inmate’s head or face.
This is undoubtedly an underestimate of the number of headshots during this period, because 24-hour reports contain only initial incident summaries prepared by staff themselves. Indeed, our review of incidents and witness interviews suggest that headshots were utilized far more frequently during this period.
There are people that believe in prisons and the prison industrial complex. But like any big business, there needs to be oversight. There needs to be a mission statement of purpose that society agrees upon. Whatever your feelings are on this issue—this isn't what we are supposed to be paying for with our tax dollars.