NYC Mayor Announces City Jail Population is Below 9,000 for the First Time in 35 Years

0
740
NEW YORK -- NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio will undergo surgery Friday, the Office announced.

NEW YORK—Mayor de Blasio today announced the New York City jail population has fallen below 9,000, and the City is on track for a monthly jail population below 9,000 for the first time in more than three decades. With just a few days left in the month, the average daily population for December is 8,980, and today’s population is 8,783.

“Today, New York City has the lowest incarceration rate of all large U.S. cities and crime rates continue to fall, proving that a large city can have small jails and safe communities,” said Mayor de Blasio. “We’ve been carrying out a multi-pronged effort over the course of my first term to shrink our jail population, and today we see the results: a jail population lower than it’s been in 35 years.”

“This historic announcement of this massive jail population reduction is a milestone in our path to closing Rikers Island. This milestone will help advance our progress in closing Rikers even sooner than we anticipated. From the lowest crime rate our City has seen in years to this momentous drop in the jail population to the Council’s Criminal Justice Reform Act, our efforts to make our city more just and secure are delivering results. I thank Mayor de Blasio for his collaboration in establishing a fairer and safer criminal justice system,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Elizabeth Glazer, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice said, “The historic reduction of the jail population is the result of many simultaneous efforts aimed at both reducing the number of low risk people who enter our jails and shortening the length of stay. Reducing the jail population is a piece of the seismic changes taking place in New York City to ensure a smaller, safer and fairer justice system. We are grateful to our partners inside and outside government and to every New Yorker whose ideas and work continue to push our work forward.”

“This is a great step forward in our efforts to reduce population and close Rikers Island. We’re well on our way towards moving into smaller, borough-based facilities that will be safer, easier for visitors to access, and save the city millions in transportation and upkeep costs. In the meantime, we remain committed to the internal reforms that are protecting staff and inmates each day, and providing real opportunities for inmates to engage in programs that help build life and job skills. None of this would be possible without the efforts of our correction officers, who have been tasked with implementing these reforms and risen to that challenge magnificently,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Cynthia Brann.

In March, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the City’s plan to close Rikers and replace it with a borough-based jail system that is smaller, safer and fairer. Achieving that goal will require the census be reduced to 5,000. The current jail population is down 58 percent from its peak of 21,674 in 1991 and has fallen more than 20 percent since Mayor de Blasio took office. Additionally, the jail population has fallen about 5 percent (roughly 400 beds) compared to this time last year. The reduction of the jail population is driven by a number of factors including reduced crime and greatly expanded alternatives to incarceration.

Facebook Comments