ALBANY (AP) -- Security videos from New York's four juvenile prisons show residents assaulting each other and staff, who say current permissive policies make the centers more dangerous.
Eileen Carpenter, recently retired from the state Commission of Correction, said Monday she gathered the 2009-10 videos last year while responsible for oversight of the four secure centers that house males ages 14 to 21, including murderers, rapists and armed robbers.
The videos show a staff member and a resident sucker-punched and knocked out in separate assaults; two youths attacking a staff member; groups attacking individual youths; and other incidents where large groups refused to comply with orders, in one case smashing furniture. In most, juveniles grappled with staff and eventually were escorted away or wrestled down, subdued and in some instances handcuffed.
None of a dozen videos showed staff striking residents. Carpenter, a correctional facilities specialist who also interviewed workers and residents, said at a news conference that she didn't see that happen on hours of security tape she watched but declined to say that it never occurred.
"This is what's going on on camera, and these residents are fully aware of what's going on on camera," Carpenter said. "I worry about what goes on in rooms where there is no camera. There's always been an inherent risk in working with this population of incarcerated juveniles, but the increase in violence over the past three years can no longer be ignored, covered up or remain unaddressed. The situation warrants immediate and drastic action to prevent the ongoing threats, violence, injuries and the potential loss of life."
Staff from some of the centers who attended the news conference said the situation worsened under the policies of Commissioner Gladys Carrion, who was appointed to the post in 2007 by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer. For example, residents no longer have to walk in lines with hands clasped behind their backs, and instead give gang signs, can skip school and programs without consequence, and that staff are perpetually worried that the security videos of incidents are going to be used to accuse them of child abuse.
Carpenter said she brought the documented violence to the attention of officials in Gov. David Paterson's administration last year and to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration this year. She and her attorney Michael Sussman said nothing has been done.
The four so-called secure facilities for boys are Brookwood and Goshen in the Hudson Valley, Industry in the Rochester area and MacCormick in the Southern Tier.
Godwin Maduemezia, who works at Brookwood and is president of his union local, said at the news conference that serious or violent incidents occur there weekly, and 90 percent of assaults involve conflicts between residents.
Separately, Carpenter is suing the state, claiming gender discrimination forced her to retire early.
Stephen Del Giacco, spokesman for the Inspector General Ellen Biben, said the office is following through on Cuomo's request that it review the matter. Cuomo's office declined further comment.
Carpenter and Sussman said they had been in contact twice with the inspector general's office, which had previously shown no interest.
Under Carrion's existing policy to place more youths in community programs, more than a dozen detention centers and group homes have closed since 2007, with the population of incarcerated juveniles declining.
Meanwhile, data from the Office of Children and Family Services showed 138 assaults on staff in 2010, up from 133 a year earlier.
Carrion spokeswoman Susan Steele said Monday that while the agency is involved in reforming the state's juvenile justice system, providing for the safety of staff and residents "is of the utmost concern." The office reviews all incidents to determine where changes are needed, and has implemented staff training initiatives, installed surveillance cameras and upgraded security systems, she said.
The Commission of Correction, charged with ensuring New York prisons are safe, stable and humane, last summer directed staff to examine reports of unusual incidents and surveillance videos at the youth facilities, which were viewed by commissioners Sept. 22, spokesman John Caher said. The commission is continuing to monitor them "to ensure that those facilities are safe and secure places to live and to work," he said.
Complaint Filed by Eileen Carpenter Against New York State Commission on Corrections
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