FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1999
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888 PRISONS AND JAILS IN THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS TO IMPROVE
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Prisoners housed in correctional and
detention facilities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands (CNMI) will not be held in unsafe and unsanitary
conditions, under an agreement reached today with the Justice
Department. Today's agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Saipan,
resolves allegations that all six correctional and detention
facilities in the CNMI failed to meet minimum constitutional
standards. The facilities covered under the agreement include:
the prison on Saipan; the jails on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota; the
Juvenile Confinement Facility on Saipan; and the Immigration
Detention Facility on Saipan. The Justice Department began investigating the facilities in
the CNMI in April 1998. During the investigation, initiated
under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA),
the Justice Department inspected all six CNMI facilities. During
its investigation, the Justice Department reviewed facility
records, including policies and procedures, booking records,
incident reports, and medical records, and it interviewed
administrators, staff, contract food-service providers, mental
health providers, inmates, and juveniles. Authorities in the
CNMI fully cooperated with the investigation. Today's agreement, which must be approved by the court,
requires the CNMI to develop short and long term plans for
complying with the agreement and running the facilities. The
CNMI also will develop and implement new policies and procedures,
create a classification system to segregate dangerous and special
needs inmates, and ensure that employees are properly trained in
corrections practices and staffed to secure the facility and
respond to emergencies. Under the terms of the agreement, the CNMI will also:
(202) 616-2777
CONDITIONS, UNDER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AGREEMENT
The CNMI may move to terminate the decree after two years. During that time, the United States will have access to all documents and facilities as necessary to evaluate whether the CNMI is complying with the agreement.
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