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H u m a n R i HUMAN g ACLU HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH h t th th s 125 Broad Street, 18 Fl. 350 Fifth Avenue, 34 Fl. W RIGHTS a New York, NY 10004 New York, NY 10118-3299 t c www.aclu.org www.hrw.org h | WATCH A C L U Custody and Control Conditions of Confinement in New York’s Juvenile Prisons for Girls C The phrase “juvenile delinquency” evokes an image of boys spray-painting walls or mugging strangers. New u s York’s juvenile justice system, like others in the United States, has responded to this image by locking up t o children in prison-like facilities, including an increasing proportion of girls. d y Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union take the first in-depth look at New York’s highest a security juvenile prisons for girls. What this report uncovers is disturbing: Upon being found “delinquent,” n young girls from backgrounds of intergenerational poverty, many of whom have survived abuse and trauma, d are locked up and again abused and neglected, this time at the hands of the state. This report documents the C o excessive use of a face-down “restraint” procedure in which girls are thrown to the floor, often causing injury, n as well as incidents of sexual abuse, and inadequate educational and mental health services. t r o A key finding of Custody and Control is that girls confined in New York’s juvenile prisons continue to endure l daily abuse and neglect because the facilities operate behind a protective shield of secrecy. Through interviews with the girls themselves as well as analysis of thousands of pages of agency records, this report C o pierces that shield, documenting urgent problems that require immediate reform. n d i t i o n s o f C o n f i n e m United States e n t HUMAN i n N e w Custody and Control RIGHTS Y o r k ’ Conditions of Confinement in New York’s s J WATCH u Right: Layers of razor wire surround the Tryon v e Juvenile Prisons for Girls juvenile prison. n i l e P Front cover: A girl awaits her court hearing. r i s She was found to have committed a non-violent o n crime, yet she is handcuffed and the handcuffs s f are bound to a wide leather belt around her waist. o r G i r “I been restrained two times during my stay here and they Photos © 2006 l s Mie Lewis/Human Rights Watch/ACLU do it to hurt yo u. ... [T] hey had messed up my face real bad ... busted my lip ... I just think they shouldn’t touch us ‘cause us kids get hurt real bad .” Human Rights Watch September 2006 American Civil Liberties Union Custody and Control Conditions of Confinement in New York’s Juvenile Prisons for Girls Glossary .........................................................................................................................................................1 Summary........................................................................................................................................................3 Recommendations........................................................................................................................................8 To the Governor of New York and the Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) ..........................................................................................................................9 To the New York State Legislature.................................................................................................... 13 To the New York Courts..................................................................................................................... 14 To Family Court Prosecutors, Mental Health Services Officers, and Probation Officers ........ 14 To the New York State Office of Mental Health ............................................................................ 14 To the New York State Department of Education ......................................................................... 15 To the New York State Civil Service Employees Association and Public Employees Federation, the unions representing OCFS facilities staff.............................................................. 15 To United States Officials.................................................................................................................... 15 To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women .................................. 16 Methods ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 I. The Rights of Incarcerated Girls under International Law............................................................. 20 II. Girls in the New York Juvenile Justice System...............................................................................26 Girls’ Delinquency: Systemic Failures and Pathways to Incarceration......................................... 26 The Social Welfare System .............................................................................................................. 26 Schools ............................................................................................................................................... 31 Juvenile Justice Processing and the Incarceration of Girls............................................................. 33 Developments in the Policing of Girls.......................................................................................... 33 The Incarceration of Girls............................................................................................................... 40 The Disproportionate Impact on Girls of Color......................................................................... 42 III. Conditions of Confinement: Abusive Treatment.......................................................................... 44 Excessive Use of Physical “Restraints” ............................................................................................. 45 Staff Shortages as a Contributing Factor to Excessive Force.................................................... 54 Excessive Security Measures ............................................................................................................... 56 Secure Conditions within Tryon’s “Non-Secure” Facility.......................................................... 57 Strip Searches .................................................................................................................................... 58 Handcuffing and Shackling of Girls ..............................................................................................61 Sexual Abuse.......................................................................................................................................... 63 Collective Punishment.......................................................................................................................... 71 Verbal and Psychological Abuse......................................................................................................... 72 Violations of Privacy ............................................................................................................................ 73 Discrimination....................................................................................................................................... 75 Discrimination and Harassment Against Lesbian and Gender Nonconforming Girls ......... 75 Racial Discrimination....................................................................................................................... 77 IV. Conditions of Confinement: Inadequate Educational Opportunities........................................ 80 Schooling................................................................................................................................................ 80 Vocational Training .............................................................................................................................. 86 V. Conditions of Confinement: Mental Health.................................................................................... 89 General Health Concerns .................................................................................................................. 103 VI. Conditions of Confinement: Isolation and Related Issues ........................................................ 105 Isolated Confinement......................................................................................................................... 105 Idleness................................................................................................................................................. 108 Limitations on Contact with the Outside World ........................................................................... 108 Lack of Attorney Access upon Incarceration............................................................................. 109 Family Visits .................................................................................................................................... 110 Telephone Calls and Mail .............................................................................................................. 112 Library and Media Access.............................................................................................................. 116 VII. Reentry and the Effects of Incarceration.................................................................................... 117 VIII. Lack of Accountability, Oversight, and Transparency in OCFS ..........................................