DASHBOARD UPDATE: NYC Comptroller Releases New Monthly Data on Department of Correction Operations

 

Data from the end of November shows a rise in serious mental illnesses among New York City’s jail population.

The New York City Comptroller’s Office released its monthly update to the Department of Correction (DOC) Dashboard, available here. The dashboard monitors pervasive issues in the City’s jails, including staff absenteeism, missed medical appointments, and incidents of violence among detained people and staff. It also tracks the jail population every month, which dropped to 5,748 people in custody. The detained population at Rikers remains well above the 3,300-person capacity of the borough-based jails intended to replace the notorious complex by 2027.

2022 closed with a record high number of deaths in the City’s jails: 19 people died in the City’s custody. The most recent DOC data available shows slow progress on the key metrics available for the dashboard:

• As of January 3, the jail population modestly declined to 5,748 people, with 131 fewer people detained as of November 30th.

• Judges assigned cash bail to over 1,000 people in November, for the seventh consecutive month in a row. The pretrial jail population also increased to 5,129, up 104 from October.
• The number of incarcerated people with serious mental illnesses rose to 1,108 in November, accounting for 19% of the jail population.
• Violent incidents decreased in December: Assaults on staff declined to 54 incidents, the second lowest for the year. Fight incidents decreased to 388, around 11% fewer incidents than in November. There were 33 slashings and stabbings, lower than most recent months, but part of a longer-term increase in these incidents that began in April 2021.
• In December, the department’s total number of uniformed staff hit a low of 6,777, with over 3,500 fewer correction officers since January 2019. Although the share of staff on sick leave declined to 11% of officers, this number remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. The total staff on medically restricted duty remains at 7%.

“The rising number of people detained with serious mental illness in our jails adds to the ever-growing humanitarian crisis on Rikers Island. New York must not default to using our jail system as a mental health treatment facility. We have an obligation to ensure all New Yorkers in our care are given proper health treatment, and that includes New Yorkers awaiting trial,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. 

The dashboard, first published in August 2022, is part of an ongoing effort of the Comptroller’s office to address violence in the City’s jail system and increase transparency between government agencies, the public, and the press.