Nassau's jail needs basic level of oversight

The Nassau County jail has had a long, troubled history that illustrates the need for accountability and good stewardship.

Yet, alarmingly, it lacks a functioning, active oversight board.

The board exists — or, at least, is supposed to exist. The Nassau County Correctional Center Board of Visitors, established by the county charter in 1990, is charged with overseeing conditions, investigating complaints and suggesting improvements.

But it hasn't met in more than five years, a Newsday news investigation recently found. The last public indication of any official meeting was in January 2021.

In the past, the jail has faced accusations of poor conditions, excessive force by correction officers, worrisome deaths inside its walls and, most recently, questions about the jail's use for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. Last year, an immigrant father of two from Hempstead died in the jail just a day after he was detained by ICE. Few details have emerged since.

The lack of oversight isn't a new problem, either. More than a decade ago, the New York Civil Liberties Union sued the county over the lack of a functioning board, leading a state Supreme Court justice to order the members' appointment. The board met again, starting in 2013, though it's unclear how much action it took. In the years since, it has never really done its job.

In a statement to the editorial board, Deputy County Executive Tatum Fox, who said the jail board was "independent," referred questions to board Chairman Justin Brown, a past Democratic candidate for office. Brown did not return multiple requests for comment. The silence from the board is troubling. But Brown's lack of leadership and the board's past problems don't absolve county officials in both parties of the current responsibility to make sure the county's oversight functions work properly. If the board is not meeting and providing any oversight, then the administration of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and the Republican-led legislature should do whatever is necessary to make sure it does — or to find another way.

That includes appointing new board members, holding hearings or otherwise making sure the board is in compliance with the county charter. It's in the county's interest to operate a well-run, well-regarded jail, with an advisory body to handle concerns or complaints. The board's only online presence is on the county's website.

Blakeman and the Nassau Legislature's majority are also distancing themselves from other key boards in which the county plays an important role. The Nassau Health Care Corp. board, which oversees Nassau University Medical Center, lacks appointments by the Republican majority and the county executive, but it does have enough members to operate.

In the jail's case, there's no one else to pick up the slack. The corrections board seems to be dysfunctional and nonresponsive. After more than three decades of a failed board, perhaps a different oversight mechanism should be put in place. Until then the county's oversight board depends upon action from the county's leaders.