Group: Destany, Cheyenne, Joe, Daniela, Shira
Possible Issues to Touch Upon
- Dilapidating Infrastructure/Features of Rikers
- Overcrowding
- NIMBY (Not in my backyard) – the issue of jails in each outer borough
- Broken Windows Policy
- Alcatraz comparison
- Violence against prisoners by prisoners
- how inmates with mental issues are not properly treated
- Mental Health of Prisoners
- How is Rikers Island Funded
- Are there any private sector involvements?
Initial Proposal: The issue our group has decided on the various overarching issues within Riker’s island. Destany plans to research institutional racism and the effects it has on who gets imprisoned. In addition, Destany will research the ideology of “not in my backyard” through the controversy surrounding implementing new jails or prisons into each borough. Cheyenne will research the mental health issues within the prison, specifically the treatments available for mental health and the mental problems that solitary confinement create. Joe will research violence within the prison, including both prisoner on prisoner violence and officer on prisoner violence. In doing so, he will confront Riker Island’s reputation with police brutality. Daniela will focus on prison conditions and the deteriorating status of the prison, in terms of infrastru. Shira will research rehabilitation efforts, focusing on how these programs affect prisoners both short-term and long-term. We plan to organize our research through a blog post that mainly consists of written research, but has the potential to include relevant videos, pictures, and graphs.
Individual Research Assignments
Destany
Main research point(s): Institutional Racism + NIMBY
Institutional Racism/Quality of Life Issues
What I plan to discuss: The school-to-prison pipeline is relevant in the cases of people of color in New York. The issuing of bond prevents lower income people from escaping the system while upper income people are able to issue the $500 bond more easily. In addition to analyzing this, I want to analyze the discrepancies of how people of color and lower income people are treated.
Resources:
Baker, E. (2009). Rikers Island: Theories of Racism. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris Corporation.
Goodman, J. D. (2016, January 20). New York City Is Set to Adopt New Approach on Policing Minor Offenses. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from www..nytimes.com/2016/01/21 /nyregio/nyregionn/new-york-council-to-consider-bills-altering-how-police-handle-minor-offens es.html es.html
O’Donohue, A. (2014, November 11). Race and Rikers. Harvard Political Review. Retrieved from http://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/race-rikers/
Walker, D. (2017, May 09). Lessons From Rikers Island. Retrieved February, 2018, from www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/rikers-island/525858/
“Not In My Backyard”
What I plan to discuss: Riker’s Island will close within 10 years, and city officials have proposed a plan to disband inmates, close the prison, and then open one smaller jail in every borough of NYC. While this could be beneficial to the overall city, local residents do not want a jail and inmates near their homes, families, and communities. I would be interested in further researching how community members feel about this, and the pros and cons of establishing jails in each borough.
Resources: I would like to interview the president of the College Point Civic Association. College Point has been considered as a location for a new jail location, and the residents of College Point are strongly opposed. At community meetings, President Joe Femenia has voiced his opinions many times on his opposition to a jail in College Point.
Badger, E. (2018, January 03). How ‘Not in My Backyard’ Became ‘Not in My Neighborhood’. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/ 2018/01/03/upshot/ zoning-housing-property-rights-nimby-us.html
Fanelli, J., & Mays, J. (2016, March 31). City Hall Quietly Eyes Neighborhoods for New Jails to Replace Rikers Island. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from www.dnainfo.com/new-york/ 20160331/college-point/ city-quietly-eying-sites-for-new-jails-replace-rikers-island-sources
Neuman, W. (2018, February 14). Mayor and Council Agree on New Jail Sites to Replace Rikers Island. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/ 2018/02/14/ nyregion/rikers-close-nyc-bronx-jail.html
Daniela
Main research point: Conditions in the Jail
Resources:
https://grist.org/justice/a-sinking-jail-the-environmental-disaster-that-is-rikers-island/
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/06/inside-rikers-island-interviews.html
http://www.centernyc.org/hazards-rikers-island/
Cheyenne
Main research point: Treatment of the prisoners and their mental health
What I plan to discuss: I plan to look into how the prisoners with mental illnesses are treated and what kind of treatments (if any) are available to them. I will also be looking into how the treatment of the prisoners might exacerbate their mental health issues or create them, especially with their common use of solitary confinement at Rikers Island.
Resources:
- Morris, N. (April 18, 2016). What I Learned Treating Psychiatric Patients at Rikers Island.
Retrieved February, 2018, from
http://time.com/4286829/mental-health-care-prisons/
- Schwirtz, M. (March 18, 2014). Rikers Island Struggles With a Surge in Violence and Mental Illness.
Retrieved February, 2018, from
- Shwirtz, M. and Winerip, Michael. (July 14, 2014). Rikers: Where Mental Illness Meets Brutality in Jail.
Retrieved February, 2018, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/nyregion/rikers-study-finds-prisoners-injured-by-employees.html
- Ford, E. (May 17, 2017). Why We Shouldn’t Stigmatize Mentally Ill Prisoners.
Retrieved March, 2018, from
http://time.com/4782404/prison-mental-health-stigma-suicide/
Lewis, C. (April 27, 2016). NYC to Invest in Mental Health at Rikers Island Jail.
Retrieved March, 2018, from
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160427/NEWS/160429934
- Buser, Mary. (December 9, 2016). What I Learned Treating the Mentally Ill on Rikers Island.
Retrieved March, 2018, from
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/exv9y4/what-i-learned-helping-mentally-ill-people-in-rikers
- Clarke, M. (August 4, 2016). Rikers Island Guards Treat Mental Illness with Violence.
Retrieved March, 2018, from
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2016/aug/4/rikers-island-guards-treat-mental-illness-violence/
Shira
Main research point: Rehabilitation efforts/programs, facilities
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/06/05/forget-closing-rikers
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rikers-inmate-overdosed-wanted-rehab-treated-article-1.3597547
Joe
Main research point: prisoner on prisoner, officer on prisoner violence.
What I Plan to Discuss: I plan to look at the rate of violence that occurs on the island. Breaking it down between violence between prisoners and violence between officers and prisoners. With that breakdown I will look to see what spurs these situations, whether it is a hate crime due to race and religion or any other reason for violence. I also will look at how the situations were handled in order to prevent further incidents.
Resources:
Hu, Winnie (May 29, 2016) Gang Violence at Rikers Seizes Spotlight During Guards’ Trial in
‘12 Beating. The New York Times.
Shwirtz, M. and Winerip, Michael. (July 14, 2014). Rikers: Where Mental Illness Meets
Brutality in Jail.
Gonen, Yoav (February 27, 2017) Rikers anti-violence consultant’s bill balloons despite spike
in assaults. NY Post.
New York City Board of Correction Reports (2018). Board of Correction Reports.
http://www1.nyc.gov/site/boc/reports/board-of-correction-reports.page
Scott M. Stringer (2016). Comptroller Stringer: Violence in City Jails Continued to Soar, as
Costs Climbed and the Inmate Population Dropped. https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/comptroller-stringer-violence-in-city-jails-continued-to-soar-as-costs-climbed-and-the-inmate-population-dropped/
Thesis (It won’t be absolutely complete until all the research is done)
This thesis will be mentioned towards the end of the project and will act as a conclusion and consist of recommendations:
The various issues discussed in this paper have allowed for Rikers Island to be placed in its current situation. Going forward, x y and z can be done to prevent this from happening in the future and a b and c should happen right now to Rikers Island.
GENERAL Resources
Goodman, D. J. (2017). Mayor Backs Plan to Close Rikers and Open Jails Elsewhere. The
New York Times.
Goodman, D. J. (2016). New York Council to Consider Bills Altering How Police Handle Minor
Offenses. The New York Times.
Lippman, J., Aborn, M. R., Cartagena, J., D’emic, J. M., Denerstein, L. M., Gilmarten, M.,…
Sterz, H. (2017). A More Just New York City: Independent Commision on New York
City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform. More Just NYC, p. 67.
Morris, N. (April 18, 2016). What I Learned Treating Psychiatric Patients at Rikers Island.
Retrieved February, 2018, from
http://time.com/4286829/mental-health-care-prisons/
Schwirtz, M. (March 18, 2014). Rikers Island Struggles With a Surge in Violence and Mental Illness.
Retrieved February, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/nyregion/rise-in-mental-illness-and-violence-at-vast-jail-on-rikers-island.html
Shwirtz, M. and Winerip, Michael. (July 14, 2014). Rikers: Where Mental Illness Meets Brutality in Jail.
Retrieved February, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/nyregion/rikers-study-finds-prisoners-injured-by-employees.html
Walker, D. (2017, May 09). Lessons From Rikers Island. Retrieved February, 2018, from www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/rikers-island/525858/
*Urban Studies adjunct
