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

 

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 decreased slightly last month to 5,915 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.

The DOC data from February shows limited progress on the key metrics available for the dashboard:

• As of March 1, the jail population was 5,915, a decrease of 55 people since February 1. 216 people were admitted into jail in February, however, February still saw more people admitted than discharged.
• Judges assigned cash bail to 1,106 people in January, which marks the ninth consecutive month in a row that over 1,000 people are assigned cash bail. However, pre-trial jail population decreased to 5,067 in January, a difference of 55 people from the month before.
• In February, the average length of stay remained at 112 days, unchanged from January.
• The number of people with serious mental illness held at Rikers continued to trend upwards, increasing from 1,111 in December to 1,153 in January, the latest available data.
• The Department’s total staff continued to decline with 6,632 uniformed officers employed last month. Uniformed staff on sick leave decreased by 12 officers from 692 in January to 680 in February. There are 22 fewer medically-restricted uniformed staff from 443 people in January to 421 people in February, a continuing downward trend since November 2021.
• Total number of violent incidents remain slightly higher than pre-pandemic levels, but all violent incidents decreased from January to February: 69 assaults on staff to 49; 356 fights to 283; 38 stabbings to 22.

This month’s findings show that although the DOC modestly reduced violence in jail and improved staffing management, New York City’s jail population remains persistently high. Since April 2021, judges continue to assign cash bail to more than 1,000 detained people per month. Rikers’ detained population still exceeds the capacity of the borough-based jails and is not on track to comply with the City’s mandated closure by 2027.

On March 13, the Department of Design and Construction posted a public notice revealing that the construction for the Brooklyn-based jail would be extended to 2029, two years past the deadline to close Rikers.

“As the extended timeline to build the borough-based jails and the growing number of people incarcerated demonstrate, the City of New York is not on track to close Rikers by 2027, as required by law. The month-to-month trends indicate a lack of serious efforts to decarcerate or provide alternatives-to-incarceration for people with serious mental illness. Without an accelerated plan to reduce the jail population and build the new facilities, justice and safety will remain out of reach for people awaiting trial at Rikers,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.

The Comptroller’s office publishes DOC data to this dashboard monthly since August 2022, as part of efforts to bring transparency and accountability to the Department’s operations.