* Editor's note: Section 10 of the rule enacted on June 9, 2021, and effective on July 9, 2021, provides for implementation as follows:
The policies, procedures, criteria, programs, plans, reports, and forms required by this rule shall be developed, approved and implemented by the dates specified below. Unless otherwise stated, all time periods are computed from the effective date of these rules. Any provisions not specifically referenced below shall take effect as of the effective date of the rule.
SECTION | IMPLEMENTATION |
§ 6-05: De-escalation Confinement | |
(g) (time in de-escalation (6 hours), re-authorization (3 hours), notice to the Board if confinement exceeds 6 hours)
| Within 6 months of Effective Date
|
(c) (visual and aural observation of people in de-escalation confinement every 15 minutes)
| Within 3 months of Effective Date
|
(i) (Quarterly report on De-escalation) | Within 8 months of Effective Date |
(a) The Department may only confine a person in custody for de-escalation purposes to:
(1) Aid a person in calming behavior that poses an immediate threat to the safety of the person or others or significantly disrupts Department activities in progress. The Department may only resort to confinement for this purpose after other less restrictive measures have been exhausted or have been or are likely to be ineffective.
(2) Temporarily place a person in custody for the person's own safety after the person has been assaulted or otherwise victimized by another person in custody.
(3) Facilitate the decontamination of people in custody following exposure to chemical spray.
(b) The Department shall immediately notify CHA of a person in custody's placement in de- escalation confinement, including the initial and any subsequent locations of such confinement, so that the person's access to medical and mental health services and medication is not interrupted.
(c) The Department shall conduct visual and aural observation of every person in de-escalation confinement every fifteen (15) minutes.
(d) The Department shall only utilize individual cells for the purpose of de-escalation confinement. Such cells may not be located in intake areas.
(f) The Department must serve meals and snacks to people in custody while in de-escalation confinement at or about the same time as, and be of the same quality and quantity of, the meals served to people in the general population.
(g) The Department shall not hold someone in de-escalation confinement for longer than the minimum amount of time required for the Department to conduct an assessment and determine the person's subsequent placement. In addition, the following time limitations apply:
(1) The Department may not place a person in de-escalation confinement for more than six (6) hours. The Department shall document every placement on a form designed for this purpose, which shall specify the reasons for the placement.
(2) After holding a person in de-escalation confinement for three (3) hours, the Department must reauthorize the confinement through written approval up the Department's security chain of command. The reauthorization approval shall consider the reasons therefor, including what attempts were made by the Department to transfer the person in custody out of de-escalation confinement after three (3) hours.
(3) Whenever the Department keeps a person in de-escalation confinement for more than the six (6) hour maximum, it must declare an emergency variance pursuant to 40 RCNY § 1-15(b)(3). Such declaration shall include how long someone was kept in de-escalation confinement in total, and the reasons why the person was not placed elsewhere. The Department shall include in this declaration the initial authorization and reauthorization forms and approvals specified in 40 RCNY §§ 6-05(g)(1) and (2).
(4) For the purposes of compliance with the time limitations in this section, the length of a person in custody's de-escalation confinement shall be calculated from the time of initial placement in the de-escalation confinement cell or area until the individual is transported to a newly assigned housing area. This shall include the time the person spends in any other subsequent de-escalation confinement cell or area prior to rehousing.
(h) The Department shall maintain an updated list of the specific areas designated to be used for de-escalation purposes at each facility. The Department shall share this list with the Board and update the Board as soon as changes are made.
(i) The Department shall provide the Board with a quarterly public report with information related to its use of de-escalation confinement for each month in the reporting period, including but not limited to (1) the number of placements in de-escalation confinement, overall and by reason for placement (2) the number whose placement lasted more than three hours, (3) the number whose placement lasted more than six hours, (4) the minimum, maximum, mean, and median time spent in de-escalation confinement, overall and by reason for placement, (5) the facility and locations of any units used for de-escalation confinement, and (6) any other information the Department or the Board deems relevant to the Board's assessment of the use of de-escalation confinement in Department facilities. Metrics in the public report shall be reported in total and by facility, and disaggregated by month. The data used to produce the report shall be tracked at the individual placement level and provided to the Board in a manner that may be analyzed electronically by the Board.
(j) The Board and the Department shall jointly develop the reporting templates for the report required by 40 RCNY § 6-05(i), for approval by the Board.
(k) The Department shall commence using individual cells outside of intake areas as required by 40 RCNY § 6-05(d) within six (6) months of the Effective Date. Pending such implementation:
(1) The Department shall operate intake areas used for de-escalation confinement in accordance with all other requirements set forth in this section.
(2) De-escalation confinement in an intake area must have an adequate number of working flush toilets, wash basins with drinking water, including hot and cold water, and appropriate furnishings for seating and reclining to accommodate the number of people in custody confined there. Such areas must be maintained in a clean and sanitized manner.
(Added City Record 6/9/2021, eff. 7/9/2021)