Michael Klinger, Senior Jail Services Attorney & Advocate in the Criminal Defense Practice testified before The New York City Council Committee on Criminal Justice regarding chronic sexual assault & harassment in NYC jails.

"Department of Correction (“the Department” or “DOC”) policies assume a jail environment in which abuses are rare and are addressed by staff training, oversight, and discipline when necessary. But the reality in Department facilities on Rikers Island is a system of street-level bureaucracy, vigilante justice, and rampant abuse, ultimately maintaining an environment of persistent violence or fear of violence that undermines the very directives designed to protect the people in the Department’s custody from sexual assault and harassment."

...

"The experiences of so many of the people we represent reveal a wide gap between the promise of the Directive and the impermissible practices of Department staff. People in custody report that they are subjected to both sexual harassment and sexual assault by Department staff and that these acts are often well known by multiple Department staff. Yet, staff ignore both abusive behavior as well as their own affirmative duty to report it."

...

"Today’s Council oversight hearing provides an opportunity to understand the layered, systemic failures of the Department, and to contemplate policies to address the Department’s culture of brutality and impunity. As a general matter, we do not believe the responsibility for training staff, investigating allegations of abuse, or disciplining staff for abuse can rest with the Department. After nearly 10 years of Monitor reports in Nunez, it strains credulity that this Department would be capable of policing itself in any meaningful way."

Read the full testimony here.