PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Michael Klinger, Jail Services Attorney from Brooklyn Defender Services
3:55:28
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124 sec
Michael Klinger, a jail services attorney from Brooklyn Defender Services, testified about sexual abuse in Rikers Island jails. He emphasized the underreporting of sexual abuse allegations and the fear inmates have in reporting such incidents due to potential retaliation and a perception of futility in the process.
- Highlighted the high rates of sexual victimization by staff at the Rose M. Singer Center, as reported in a 2013 DOJ survey
- Criticized the Department of Correction's failures in implementing PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) obligations
- Urged the council to consider external authorities for investigating sexual assault allegations and providing PREA-related training
- Mentioned the potential $15 billion cost of Adult Survivors Act claims as an indication of the scope of the problem
Michael Klinger
3:55:28
Good afternoon.
3:55:30
My name is Michael Klinger.
3:55:32
I'm a jail services attorney with Brooklyn defender services.
3:55:35
Thank you for the opportunity to testify by today.
3:55:38
Today's committee report expresses the committee's concern that the department might be under counting or missing allegations of sexual abuse.
3:55:46
We share your concern, and based on our client's experience, we know they are.
3:55:51
The Adult survivors act has pulled back the curtain on a world of sexual abuse on Records Island that should shock us, but it should not surprise us because we've long known about DOC's culture of brutality and abuse, not only through the reports of the New Years' Mon which focuses on violence in the jails, but also from a 2013 DOJ survey that found the Rosenzem Singer Center to have one of the highest rates of reported sexual victimization by staff in the nation.
3:56:18
At broken defenders, when the people we represent share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault by staff on Rutgers, they simultaneously say they are afraid to report it.
3:56:28
They're afraid to report not only at a fear of retaliation, but because of a fear of the a a process that is both dangerous and in their view futile.
3:56:40
The department is far from adequately performing its obligations under Priya.
3:56:45
These failures are endemic, the consequences of a department culture that tolerates use and retribution against people in custody and fails to hold abusers accountable.
3:56:56
In considering intro 8:30 today, we urge the council to think creatively of ways to designate an authority external to the department with responsibility for investigating dating allegations of sexual assault and abuse, as well as providing trainings related to pre implementation.
3:57:12
The potential cost of the Adult survivors act claims nearly $15,000,000,000 is a frightening indication of the scope of the problem to date.
3:57:20
And we cannot pretend to trust that this department is capable of creating conditions where our clients might ever feel safe enough to trust in a reporting system that has so far succeeded only in silencing them.
3:57:32
Thank you.
