If you have suffered abuse in a state or local jail, or abuse by state or local cops, you can complain to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) about it, specifically to the Special Litigation Section. No, you cannot get remedy for only your injury there. But you can let the DOJ know that the abuse is occurring and it needs to be corrected, and the DOJ can sue the institution in order to pressure them to make corrections. This principle applies in particular to behaviors or situations that violate the law or regulations regarding how prisons should operate.

• For example: excessively cold temperatures
• insufficiently warm clothing
• manacles and leg irons so tight they chafe you raw
• jostled around in a transport vehicle so that it injures you
• when you get yanked into a metal grate or chains fed
• nasty, rank, or non-nutritious food
• forced to wear nasty or improperly laundered clothing or infested with lice or mites like "scabies"
•  forced into cells with feces, urine, or other body waste on walls, bars, floors, wash basins, or toilets
• filthy mattresses, sheets, or blankets
• mattress-less bunks
• forced into solitary lockdown for refusing to wear nasty prison clothing or eat nasty prison food or sign prison documents
• verbal or physical abuse by guards

You might want to visit the DOJ web site and look at What We Do for a hint as to how the DOJ can help improve bad conditions in our states.

Now, about those complaints, see the U.S. Department of Justice web site.

To File a Complaint about:

• An institution —complaints about institutions such as jails, prisons, juvenile facilities, developmental disability/mental retardation facilities, mental health facilities or nursing homes.
• A law enforcement agency — complaints about law enforcement agencies, such as police or sheriff's departments.
• Access Act violations — interference with access to reproductive health clinics or places of religious worship.

Complaints about Institutions

What you should know before filing a complaint about an Institution:

1. The Special Litigation Section can only investigate institutions run by, or on behalf of, state and local governments. This means that the Section cannot investigate federal institutions (such as federal prisons, INS detention centers, or Veterans Administration Hospitals) or institutions that are strictly private facilities (such as private nursing homes). Complaints regarding federal institutions may be directed elsewhere.
2. The Section cannot represent individuals in court or in any other proceeding (including parole board hearing, lawsuits, or criminal trials).
3. The Section's work is directed at obtaining broad reform of conditions in institutions.  We do not have authority to remedy problems for particular individuals or seek money on behalf of individuals.
4. The Special Litigation Section does not bring criminal cases against those who violate the civil rights of residents.  Criminal complaints can be made to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.
5. The Section is authorized to take action only if there is a pattern or practice of illegal conduct.   While we do collect information about specific incidents in order to determine whether there may be a pattern or practice that warrants investigation, we do not have authority to investigate or remedy individual complaints about a particular incident.

How to File a Complaint:

The Section can also be reached by telephone (202-514-6255 or toll-free at 877-218-5228) or fax (202-514-0212 or 202-514-6273).

Answers to other frequently asked questions about the complaint process can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Other Agencies:

Jails and Prisons:
Immigration and Naturalization Service  -- complaints about conditions in INS detention facilities.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons  -- complaints about conditions in federal prisons.
U.S. Marshals Service  -- complaints about conditions of confinement for federal inmates awaiting trial.

Health Care Facilities:
VA's Customer Service web page -- complaints regarding treatment in a Veteran's Administration Hospital.
Health Care Finance Authority  -- complaints about health care in facilities receiving federal Medicaid or Medicare funding.
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems -- complaints regarding treatment of individuals with mental disabilities, mental retardation or developmental disorders.  (Protection and Advocacy systems are created by federal statutes to advocate on behalf of individuals with mental disabilities, mental retardation or developmental disorders.)

Other:
Civil Rights Division's Employment Litigation Section -- complaints about discriminatory employment practices by state or local facilities.
Americans with Disabilities Act Home Page -- individual complaints about discrimination based on disability.
Federal Bureau of Investigation -- complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals' federal civil rights.
Civil Rights Criminal Section -- complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals' federal civil rights.
 
 

What you should know before filing a complaint about a Law Enforcement Agency:

1. The Section has authority to investigate only state and local law enforcement agencies.  This means that the Section cannot investigate federal law enforcement agencies (such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations or Drug Enforcement Administration).  Complaints regarding federal law enforcement agencies may be directed elsewhere.
2. The Special Litigation Section does not bring criminal cases against those who violate the civil rights of citizens.  Criminal complaints can be made to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.
3. The Section is authorized to take action only if there is a pattern or practice of illegal conduct.   While we do collect information about specific incidents in order to determine whether there may be a pattern or practice that warrants investigation, we do not have authority to investigate or remedy individual complaints about a particular incident.

How to File a Complaint:

The Section can also be reached by telephone (202-514-6255 or toll-free at 877-218-5228) or fax (202-514-0212 or 202-514-6273).

Answers to other frequently asked questions about the complaint process can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Other Agencies:

Federal Law Enforcement Agencies:
Civil Rights Division's Coordination and Review Section   -- complaints about federal law enforcement officers (FBI, DEA, Customs Service, Border Patrol, etc.) can be made to the Coordination and Review Section and will be forwarded to the appropriate federal agency for review.
Federal Bureau of Investigation -- complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals' federal civil rights.
Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section -- complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals' federal civil rights.

Individual Complaints:
Civil Rights Division's Coordination and Review Section -- individual complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion by State and local law enforcement agencies that receive financial assistance from the Department of Justice.
Americans with Disabilities Act Home Page  -- individual complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability.
Federal Bureau of Investigation -- complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals' federal civil rights.
Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section -- complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals' federal civil rights.

Other:
Civil Rights Division's Employment Litigation Section -- complaints about discriminatory employment practices by state or local law enforcement agencies.

What you should know before filing a complaint about access to a reproductive health clinic or places of religious worship:
 

1. The Special Litigation Section enforces the civil, not the criminal, provisions of the Access Act.  This means that the Section is authorized to bring suits seeking court orders to prohibit specific acts and to seek fines and statutory damages, but does not criminally prosecute those who violate the criminal provisions of the statute.  Criminal complaints can be made elsewhere.
2. The Section is not authorized to represent individuals, although Access Act cases brought by the Section may seek statutory damages that will be given to the obstructed clinic or place of worship.

How to File a Complaint:

The Section can also be reached by telephone (202-514-6255 or toll-free at 877-218-5228) or fax (202-514-0212 or 202-514-6273).

Answers to other frequently asked questions about the complaint process can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Other Agencies:
Federal Bureau of Investigation -- complaints regarding criminal violations of the Access Act.
Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section -- complaints regarding criminal violations of the Access Act.