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Disciplinary Segregation in New York
Special Housing Unit (SHU)is nothing what it sounds like. Since the 1980s, New York City Department of Correction have increased the use of segregation as a discipline and management tool. In effect, segregation is a secondary sentence imposed by the correctional facility, which is usually unrelated to the conviction for which the person is incarcerated for. There is nothing special about a small confined space where individuals are subject to no outside interaction with the rest of the prison population or the rest of the world. Inmates called solitary confinement “the box,” or “the cage” summarizing the physical features that a place like this is, which ultimately is torture. There are high rates of use of solitary confinement in New York when compared to other U.S. states. Within the New York prison system, solitary confinement is frequently imposed for nonviolent, “trivial prisoner offenses.” Usually the common misconception is that solitary confinement is a punishment of last resort, reserved for inmates who present a threat of violence or escape. Inmates that are released from solitary confinement go through a “transitional unit” but failure in the program results in their return to solitary confinement. Overall, most of the inmates fail and return to solitary confinement. The reality is, especially in New York, that this is a punishment of first resort. New York has the highest rate of “disciplinary segregation” in the country, making solitary confinement a regular every day action among the prison. Although prisons nationwide have decreased use of solitary confinement, the New York City Department of Correction expanded its capacity by 27 percent in 2011 and another 44 percent in 2012, according to the NYC Jails Action Coalition. Although the DOC housed 1,000 more inmates in 1990 than it does today, its’ jails have more solitary cells now. Due to this the city is topping the charts of municipalities with a high rate of solitary confinement. On any given day, there are about 4,500 men, women, and children in some form of isolated confinement in New York State prisons. This is not including New York City’s jails, which are run under a separate system, where those in solitary confinement reach close to 1,000 or more. There is a sense of struggle when it comes to the development of human rights consciousness and where the fight for this should be taking place. New Yorkers may be unconscious of the torture in their own backyards and that their living with “black sites.”

A new bill was introduced by Councilman Danny Dromm would require the Department of Correction to post a monthly report on its website about punitive segregation. It would also require data on the number of people in punitive segregation, the length of time in this setting, the nature of the infractions, age, mental health, if they were prescribed medication or moved to a hospital, violence against others and inmate requests. Many are supportive of this bill with the goal being to make jail facilities safer for inmates and correction officers.Individuals who are released and experience solitary confinement go back into their communities and reoffend at higher rates than general population prisoners causing them to land back into prison. Policy changes that will reduce the use and long-term impact of segregation will benefit not only the staff and prisoners in these units but also ultimately the well-being of facilities, systems, and the community. Councilman Dromm also issued a separate resolution seeking to end the practice of the time owed. For example, an inmate, because of good behavior or other reasons, might only have served 100 of his or her 180-day sentence in solitary and then was released. A few years or even decades later the person is rearrested. Under current rules he or she must complete those unserved 80 days in solitary. This resolution however is only a request since the Council does not have the authority to make the Department of Correction adhere.

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