Facebook Live is becoming quite an indispensible tool for many of its users. An alleged Rikers Island inmate was recorded airing his gripes about the abusive jail guards and the oppressive environment of the facility.
A person identified as PIX11 is suspected of using a smuggled smartphone to interview the prisoner, according to The Verge. The video was then uploaded in Facebook Live on July 22. Around 7,000 persons got to see the online video before it was removed.
The prisoner accused the prison guards of stifling their rights. To dramatize their plight, the inmate showed the food they eat and the cell where they stay and sleep. He also showed a prison made blade fashion out of a scalpel.
The Rikers Island prison facility is situated in New York City. It has become more dangerous to prisoners and guards alike. Less than a week after the Facebook Live upload, a guard in the facility was attacked and wounded in the face. The guard survived but it also confirmed that many prisoners are armed with lethal weapons.
Prison officials reported that the number of illicit items they confiscated in 2016 jumped by almost 50 percent compared to last year. To improve security, 100 more CCTV cameras have been added. There is also a possibility that body scanners will soon be introduced at Rikers.
The Daily News reports that new policies and procedures will soon be implemented to improve prison security and decrease the level of violence at Rikers. The new polices will include how Prison officers apply force and how to handle cases of violent incidents.
Prison guards will be equipped with body cameras on an experimental basis. Guards will also be given handheld cameras to document their handling of prisoners. Correction officers suspected of violent tendencies will be profiled and stored online. Almost 8,000 CCTV cameras are expected to be put in place in the near future.
