TESTIMONY
Lauren Stephens-Davidowitz, Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society, on Proposed Budget Cuts to the Board of Correction
6:32:35
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127 sec
Lauren Stephens-Davidowitz testifies against proposed budget cuts to the Board of Correction, underscoring the necessity of maintaining its funding for effective jail oversight.
- Highlights the Board of Correction as the public’s only insight into the city’s jails, stressing its pivotal role in ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Discusses examples of the Board’s work, including reporting on jail death tolls, the use of chemical agents, incidents like fires, and conditions such as restrictive housing and efforts to stop sexual abuse.
- Emphasizes the importance of a fully funded Board for its functioning as a watchdog, especially in light of the Department of Correction's (DOC) failures to provide basic services and ensure inmate safety.
- Calls for the council to ensure the Board's role is supported with sufficient funding, given its critical oversight despite challenges such as restricted access to jail surveillance videos.
Lauren Stephens-Davidowitz
6:32:35
Hi.
6:32:35
Thank you all so much for giving the legal aid society the chance to address the preliminary budget for the board of correction.
6:32:42
We strongly oppose the proposed cuts to the small but vital protector of the people held in the city's jails.
6:32:49
Jells present a challenge to democracy.
6:32:51
Behind closed doors, the government exert maximum control over someone's life.
6:32:56
To ensure accountability in the exercise of this power, the city charter gives the board of correction authority to monitor the city's jails.
6:33:05
The board is, in effect, the public's only window into the closed world of corrections.
6:33:11
City lawmakers and residents and families of those in custody depend on the board for reliable information about the jails.
6:33:19
Admits the mounting wrecker's death toll and DOC's inaccurate or shifting explanations.
6:33:25
The board has provided high follow the information about the often deeply disturbing circumstances leading to each death.
6:33:32
Recently, the board issued an in-depth analysis of DOC's use of chemical agents against people who present passive resistance, argue with staff, or attempt to inflict self harm.
6:33:44
And it released a report on a on a destructive fire in 2023 where people remain locked in cells whose sprinklers have been turned off.
6:33:54
The board also regularly releases data about restrictive housing, young adults in custody, and efforts to stop sexual abuse.
6:34:02
Notably, for most of the past year, the board provided its oversight despite city hall's decision to cut off its access to jail surveillance videos.
6:34:12
A violation of the city charter that was only reversed after the board took court action.
6:34:19
The board cannot perform its role without a fully funded and well resourced staff, and the city needs a watchdog over its jails now more than ever.
6:34:28
The council is well aware of DOC's failures to protect to provide basic services and to keep those in custody safe.
6:34:35
The council must ensure that the board's pivotal role is sustained with sufficient funding.
6:34:41
Thank you.
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Nicole Farrelly, Senior Mitigation Specialist at Osborn Association on Advocacy's Role in Supporting Indigent Clients and Alternatives to Incarceration
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Peleya Patterson, Vice President of Justice Initiatives at Good Shepherd Services, on Proposed Cuts to Youth Justice Programs