Westchester County Jail Meets U.S. Requirements Over Use Of Force

WHITE PLAINS, NY — The Westchester County Jail is in full compliance with all provisions of an agreement with the federal government to remedy constitutional violations at the facility.

Audrey Strauss, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Thursday a long-running investigation into the jail has been concluded.

"Since the commencement of our investigation in 2007, Westchester County Jail has worked steadily and in good faith to implement sweeping reforms that have significantly improved the treatment of inmates at the facility," she said in a news release.

"The jail is a completely transformed institution, having implemented every provision of the agreement and even creating policies and programs that go beyond what the agreement requires," Strauss said. "At every step along the way, the jail's leadership and staff have been a willing partner in creating lasting reforms that have significantly improved the quality of life for inmates and detainees within the facility."

Located in Valhalla, the jail houses pretrial detainees and sentenced inmates. It also housed minors before the state enacted "Raise the Age" in October 2018, prohibiting minors from being housed in adult corrections facilities. The last minor housed in the jail was transferred to a juvenile facility in November 2019.

County Executive George Latimer said he was pleased with the news.

"From innovative programs providing education and life-skills support to actually housing lawyers in the facility for inmates, I am immensely proud of the work being done in our jail," he said in a prepared statement. "No one is forgotten in our county, and this work is just more proof."

In 2009, the U.S. issued a letter with the government's findings regarding constitutional violations at the jail. Key findings included that the jail had failed to adequately protect inmates from physical harm caused by inappropriate and excessive force used by staff and failed to provide adequate medical and mental health car, particularly with respect to minors housed in isolation in the punitive segregation unit, all resulting in unconstitutional living conditions.

The government and Westchester County entered into an agreement effective Jan. 1, 2016, requiring the jail to take measures designed to ensure that its use of force is not excessive, to implement appropriate policies and practices concerning review of all uses of force, training of staff and supervision of inmates and to improve the provision of medical and mental health care for both minors and adults.

There was also the appointment of an independent monitor to help the county to achieve compliance of the agreement.

Strauss said use of force incidents have plummeted and continued to decrease each reporting period. Staff are now consistently trained in de-escalation procedures, and mental health care and medical care have also improved dramatically.

The complete statement from Strauss can be read here.

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