Testimony on the Use of Body Scanners in Youth Facilities

Governor Hochul’s proposal in Part J of the Education, Labor and Family Assistance (ELFA) Article VII bill would amend Section 3502 of the Public Health Law by authorizing the use of body scanners on young people detained in or committed to, visitors to, and employees of locally-operated secure and specialized secure juvenile detention and state-operated juvenile justice facilities. Based on the repeated instances of sex discrimination against women attempting to visit their loved ones incarcerated in DOCCS prisons, the legislature should be extremely cautious in authorizing the use of body scanners in youth facilities. The NYCLU urges the legislature to adopt meaningful guardrails that address concerns encountered with the use of body scanners at carceral facilities before any expansion of body scanners.