On Dec. 23 in a La Voce di New York article titled, “Solitary Confinement in NYC Jails Banned: Politicians Are Blind to the Violent Reality” I stated, “A ban on confinement will surely make Rikers less safe”.
On Jan. 16, the NY Post reported that Steve Martin, the federal monitor who oversees the city’s jails pursuant to the Nunez consent decrees, “slammed the City Council’s controversial move to ban solitary confinement”. He stated, “it would only exacerbate the already dangerous conditions.”
In a complete turn of events, Martin’s statements for once echo the concerns of correction officers and jail union officials.
Initially, I was baffled because on its face Martin’s opposition to the ban and agreement with the Department of Correction’s rank and file was shocking to say the least. But you don’t need to look far to see through the political fog.
For nine years in his scathing reports to Federal Judge Laura Taylor-Swain, Martin has lambasted the uniformed correction force, has not supported a crime fighting philosophy in NYC jails, has not been against restrictions and limitations on solitary confinement and has not pursued the arrests of detainees who brutally assault other detainees or correction officers.
So why would the monitor be against a ban on solitary confinement now? This is only one of the questions that we must ask.
Are we to believe that Steve Martin and the monitoring team, who have made over $22 million by consistently criticizing the DOC policies and the integrity of its uniformed force, have suddenly experienced a law enforcement epiphany?
What is his real motive?
The monitor has done irreparable harm to DOC and NYC. He has subjected correction officers to a modern day pillory by demonizing and villainizing them. Under his tenure violence has skyrocketed, bedlam prevails, gangs control the jails and reform is nonexistent..
Any rookie correction officer can tell you that some form of confinement is a necessary tool to prevent jail violence. So why did it take nine years for the monitor to have this revelation? Uniformed bosses, DOC unions and virtually every correction officer have been sounding the alarm of the growing violence in NYC jails since 2014 to no avail.
I venture to say that once again we have a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” scenario in NYC politics.
Both Martin and City Hall want to avoid a federal receiver takeover of Rikers jails. In December, Mayor Eric Adams appointed Lynelle Maginley-Liddie as the correction commissioner after Steve Martin was consulted and approved of Liddie.
In essence, Martin chose the correction commissioner.
And now in return Martin backs the mayor against the city council’s ban on solitary confinement and will use his influence with Judge Laura Taylor-Swain to prevent the appointment a federal receiver.
The end result of this “mutual backscratching” is that NYC gets to keep control of the jails and the monitor and his team get to keep collecting millions of dollars from NYC taxpayers who have yet to see any reduction of detainee violence or meaningful reforms.
Despite the mayor and monitor’s delight, the incarcerated population and the correction officers will continue to suffer the consequences of personal agendas and NYC ‘politricks’.
