‘Justice denied’: Survivors of sex abuse behind bars call on city, state to address their lawsuits

‘Justice denied’: Survivors of sex abuse behind bars call on city, state to address their lawsuits

On Wednesday, dozens of survivors of sexual abuse in the city’s jails and state’s prisons called on officials at all levels of government to recognize the hundreds of women and men abused behind bars, expedite the over 2,000 pending lawsuits and generally take the allegations seriously.

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DOC boss denies knowing about Rikers’ ‘worst-kept secret’

DOC boss denies knowing about Rikers’ ‘worst-kept secret’

The head of the city’s Department of Correction had little to say when asked about allegations that officers regularly lock up detainees with mental health issues for days or weeks at a time in solitary confinement, blocking their access to medication and attention from doctors.

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‘Who could I tell?’: Council grills DOC after victims detail sexual abuse on Rikers

‘Who could I tell?’: Council grills DOC after victims detail sexual abuse on Rikers

Around a year after hundreds of lawsuits were filed against the Department of Correction by New Yorkers who said they were sexually abused while incarcerated on Rikers Island, top officials in the DOC attempted to convince fuming lawmakers on Thursday that they were taking the allegations seriously.

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Former Rikers worker says DOC locks mentally ill detainees inside cells for weeks

Former Rikers worker says DOC locks mentally ill detainees inside cells for weeks

Detainees with mental health issues are sometimes locked inside cells for weeks or months at a time without access to their needed medication and left to deteriorate, a former social worker on Rikers Island told the jails’ watchdog board on Tuesday. 

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‘I cried that whole night’: Families say DOC did little to tell them their loved ones died on Rikers

‘I cried that whole night’: Families say DOC did little to tell them their loved ones died on Rikers


A City Council bill discussed Friday would define the procedures the DOC and Correctional Health Services – the branch of the city’s hospital system that provides medical care on Rikers Island – should take to notify an incarcerated person’s emergency contacts when that person is seriously injured, hospitalized or attempts suicide.

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Jail programming suffers a year after DOC cut nonprofit contract

Jail programming suffers a year after DOC cut nonprofit contract

The city’s Department of Correction has continued to struggle to provide re-entry services, educational programs, life skills training and other programs to detainees on Rikers Island a year after the agency cut a contract with half a dozen nonprofits and opted to provide the programming themselves.

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‘Can’t rehabilitate Rikers’: Borough prez stands by jail closure plan after tour

‘Can’t rehabilitate Rikers’: Borough prez stands by jail closure plan after tour

Despite seeing improvements during a recent visit to Rikers Island, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards says he believes no amount of refurbishment will be enough to justify keeping the troubled jail complex open – and that a federal takeover of the jail should remain on the table. 


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Officers, jail workers and detainee cuffed in Rikers smuggling scheme

Officers, jail workers and detainee cuffed in Rikers smuggling scheme

Three former correctional officers, a Rikers Island program counselor, a jails contractor and a detainee were all charged this week in federal court for scheming to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the city’s notorious jail complex.

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City claims Rikers receivership isn’t needed with new commissioner at helm

City claims Rikers receivership isn’t needed with new commissioner at helm

Attorneys for the city on Tuesday told a federal judge that Rikers Island should remain in the hands of the city as a new, reform-minded commissioner takes a stab at curbing violent conditions at the notorious jail complex.

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Mayor restores programming on Rikers months after cutting funding

Mayor restores programming on Rikers months after cutting funding

The Adams administration late Monday announced that it planned to mostly restore nonprofit-provided programming for detainees on Rikers Island after the city attempted – and largely failed – to provide the programming itself following a budget cut ordered by the mayor last year.

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Nonprofits given ax by DOC last year return to work on Rikers for free

Nonprofits given ax by DOC last year return to work on Rikers for free

A little more than half a year after the Department of Correction cut a contract with several nonprofit service providers, two of those organizations have been asked to again provide programming to detainees on Rikers Island – and to do it for free.

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