By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

On Monday a new report showed that the New York City’s jails lost a big chunk of staff members under Mayor Eric Adam’s administration.

As per the NY Post, NYC’s ailing jail system has seen a 25 percent drop in the number of correction officers employed compared to two years ago.  The correction officers’ union said that the prisons will continue to struggle without a “robust workforce.”

Currently, the jail system employs 6,257 uniformed officers, down drastically from 2021, when there were 8,388 guards employed by the city’s Department of Correction, as per data from the NYC Independent Budget Office. Back in 2018, the DOC had close to 11,000 jail officers. The inmate population also began to decline by roughly 1,000 each year, falling below 4,400 during the pandemic, per city statistics.

The latest decline in staff members, first reported by Gothamist on Monday, comes amid worries of a federal take over, due to ongoing reports of unacceptable conditions at Rikers Island.  This year, at least seven people have died in custody, with multiple staffers facing suspensions in connection to the deaths. Even worse, in 2022, the DOC recorded 19 inmates who died behind bars.  “New York City correction uniformed officers outnumber detained individuals in custody, yet seven people already died in custody this year and violent incidents are on the rise– proof that the agency cannot keep incarcerated people or their staff safe,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.  “An agency that cannot keep its house in order doesn’t need to staff up, it needs fundamental sea change.”

Per the Post, the Correction Officers Benevolent Association union head claimed the reduced staffing is one of the main reasons the jail system is still struggling. “Without making serious investments in a robust workforce, the DOC will never turn this ship around,” Benny Boscio said.  “The DOC needs to improve our quality of life to prevent burnout, as we have many officers working 100-150 hours of overtime a month without meal breaks and still working triple tours.”

Currently, the jail population is at about 6,200, data shows.  This indicates that the inmate-to-guard ratio in New York City is still three times higher than the national average of three detainees for every officer. US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams is one of the leading voices pushing for a federal takeover.  “This is a collective failure with deep roots, spanning multiple mayoral administrations and DOC commissioners,” said Williams in mid-July, as he announced plans to seek a court-appointed receiver.  “After eight years of trying every tool in the toolkit, we cannot wait any longer for substantial progress to materialize.”

The DOC made a statement saying: “The department is committed to continual improvement of the jail system in this city so that it is safe for all, and rehabilitative for persons in custody.”  Last month the DOC swore in a class of 128 new officers, per a press release on NYC.gov.

About six years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to permanently shutter Rikers Island in 2027, replacing it with smaller borough-based jails.