"I am deeply concerned by the Department of Correction's recent changes to their video sharing system, as well as any actions taken by the DOC that effectively dictate terms and conditions onto how their own oversight body, the Board of Correction, can work effectively. The Department has given no sufficient explanation for this change, and safe and humane corrections facilities require full transparency. Today’s announcement – coupled with previous decisions to not provide accurate data on daily staffing levels or regular briefings from the Commissioner – only further denies our right to honest, direct, and open government.
"After a historically deadly and dangerous year on Rikers Island, the Board of Correction needs every tool to save lives and protect New Yorkers on both sides of the bars – including ready access to video footage. This alarming change and the approach it represents make it all the more essential to enact clear, actionable standards and guidelines to govern DOC’s operations, such as my bill to ban solitary confinement. We need the DOC’s leadership and partnership to end the crisis conditions on Rikers, not to hide them offshore and out of sight."