Q&A
Debate on male officers guarding female inmates without supervision
2:49:47
·
3 min
Council Member Sandy Nurse raises concerns about the practice of male correction officers guarding female inmates without supervision, citing expert opinions that this violates correctional best practices.
- Nurse references an expert hired by the Legal Aid Society who found the practice violates correctional best practices
- DOC Commissioner disagrees that male officers guarding female inmates is inherently problematic
- The Commissioner emphasizes the need for constant supervision throughout facilities, regardless of gender
- Discussion touches on the potential higher risk of sexual misconduct by male officers against female inmates
- Brief mention of sexual abuse allegations during medical checks, highlighting vulnerabilities in various contexts
Sandy Nurse
2:49:47
An expert hired in a lawsuit filed by the legal aid society found that permitting male correction officers to guard female inmates without supervision violates correctional best practices do you agree or disagree with that assessment?
Lynelle Maginley-Liddie
2:50:03
That it violates best correctional practices.
Sandy Nurse
2:50:08
That I'll restate it.
2:50:10
I'm I'm trying to speak slow for for myself as well because I know these are these questions have a lot of preamble, but an expert hired in a lawsuit filed by the legal aid society found that permitting male correction officers to guard female inmates without supervision violates correctional best practices.
2:50:31
Do you agree or disagree with that assessment?
Lynelle Maginley-Liddie
2:50:33
Well, I think everybody should be subject to supervision, but I don't think because a correction office a correction officer's mail and the individual in custody is female that that's that inherently is a problem.
2:50:48
But I do agree that there needs to be constant supervision throughout our facilities, which is why we're doing the preannounced tours and making sure that supervisors do the toys that are required.
Sandy Nurse
2:51:00
Yeah.
2:51:00
I understand.
2:51:01
I mean, I think in I mean, look, I think you and I get up every day and walk in the world.
2:51:05
We we know that the the the chances of I mean, I'd be curious to see the breakdown of these cases between folks who've made allegations, how many of them were against a male correction officer versus woman correction officer, although there was testimony today about sexual violence being conducted by a female correction officer.
2:51:27
Male cat.
2:51:28
I do think probably the statistics would show that more likely than not.
2:51:32
It was a male to a male correction officer to a female person in custody or a woman person who identifies as a woman in custody.
2:51:42
Okay.
2:51:44
I have a few other questions here, and then we have questions for DUI.
2:51:49
We haven't really talked much about correctional health, although many of the allegations were around correctional health during medical checks, a lot of instances of groping, penetration, against their will, things like that.
2:52:05
I I did read your testimony.
2:52:07
I I heard your testimony, and count for that.
2:52:09
But we do wanna talk about the issue of dead locking.
2:52:13
I know it's not directly in on topic for today's hearing, but we are we wanna do we wanna have a hearing around that, but we always bring up questions that are are more timely and urgent.
2:52:25
The report that came out earlier this month as a result of a whistleblower and a former CHS service employee described a pattern of organized cruelty in which people in custody with a mental health diagnosis were routinely deadlocked or kept isolated in their cells and left to suffer for sometimes months at a time.
2:52:48
For for commissioner, You have been an employee of the Department of Corrections for nearly 10 years.
2:52:54
During your tenure, have you ever heard the term deadlocking?
2:52:58
I have not.
2:52:59
You've never heard of this term.
Lynelle Maginley-Liddie
2:53:00
I've never heard of
