NEW YORK — New York City’s jail system is holding more people with fewer officers — a strain correction officials say will require both staffing support and what Commissioner Stanley Richards described as “responsible” population reduction.
Testifying before the City Council during a budget hearing on March 24, Richards outlined a department under growing pressure, with the city’s average daily jail population rising to about 7,100 people while staffing levels continue to fall.
Richards is the first formerly incarcerated person to lead New York City’s Department of Correction, having previously served time on Rikers Island in the late 1980s for robbery.
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The city’s facilities are now operating at 92% capacity, the highest level seen in more than a decade, Richards said. At the same time, the department employs about 5,600 uniformed staff members — a roughly 20% decline since January 2022 — with more retirements looming.
“DOC is not operating with excess staffing,” Richards told council members. “We are managing an increasing population through growing staff attrition.”
Rising population, shrinking workforce
Richards said the department’s jail population has increased nearly 10% compared with fiscal year 2025 and is up about 43% compared with fiscal year 2021.
That growth, he said, is adding pressure across the system, from housing and staffing to service delivery.
“Population pressures are increasing” even as the department continues to struggle with recruitment and retention, Richards said.
More than 800 uniformed staff members are currently eligible for retirement, with another 235 expected to become eligible next calendar year and nearly 400 more by the end of 2028.
Those numbers, Richards said, make clear that the department’s staffing problem is not theoretical.
“We know that additional retirements are coming,” he said.
‘Responsible’ population reduction
Richards repeatedly stressed that the Department of Correction does not control who enters city custody, but said the agency is working with system partners to support what he described as “responsible population reduction” — part of a broader effort under Mayor Zorhan Mamdani’s administration to safely reduce the jail population.
That includes working with courts, prosecutors and other partners to safely reduce the number of people held in city jails while also strengthening reentry connections for those returning to the community.
“This is not just a DOC challenge,” Richards said. “It is a systems challenge.”
Later in the hearing, he pointed to supervised release, alternatives to incarceration, faster case processing and stronger community-based support as part of the larger solution.
Overtime remains a major cost driver
Staffing shortages continue to fuel overtime spending.
Department officials said DOC is projected to spend about $370 million on overtime in fiscal year 2026. Richards said reducing that number will depend on both hiring and population reduction.
“If we want safe jails, we must ensure that the people responsible for maintaining that safety are whole and healthy,” he said.
Richards also said recruitment alone will not solve the problem overnight, noting that years of attrition have outpaced hiring.
Aging Rikers infrastructure still a daily challenge
Richards also warned that the age and condition of facilities on Rikers Island continue to create operational and safety problems.
He described the infrastructure failures as a daily reality, not a future concern, pointing to issues like broken steam lines, generator failures and building systems operating beyond their intended lifespan.
“These are not abstract risks,” Richards said. “They are operational realities we must face and manage every day.”
He said those failures affect both staff and incarcerated people, especially when outages disrupt essentials like hot water or housing operations.
“That’s why we must close Rikers,” Richards said. “We just must.”
Federal oversight remains in focus
The department’s challenges also continue under federal scrutiny.
Richards told council members he has begun working with newly appointed remediation manager Nicholas Deml, who will oversee efforts tied to long-running federal court orders related to jail safety and conditions.
Richards said both he and Deml share the same goal: safer jails for staff and incarcerated people.
A 90-day action plan is expected as part of that process.
Richards pushes ‘people first’ approach
Throughout the hearing, Richards framed his early approach as commissioner around improving conditions for both staff and incarcerated people.
His priorities, he said, include safe and humane jails, stronger partnerships, responsible population reduction and preparing the department for the eventual shift to borough-based jails.
He also made clear that improving safety will require more than enforcement alone.
“We can’t punish our way into compliance,” Richards said.
Instead, the department has to build a system where both staff and the people in custody are supported, Richards said.
Borough-based jails still years away
While the city remains committed to closing Rikers and transitioning to borough-based jails, Richards said the first new facility is not expected to reach substantial completion until 2029.
Until then, the department will continue balancing long-term transition planning with short-term operational needs on the island.
For fiscal year 2027, DOC’s preliminary budget is about $1.4 billion, with most of that funding tied to personnel.
Richards said the work ahead will take time, but he told council members the department is focused on building a safer, more stable system.
“This work is about people,” he said.
What matters more for improving jail safety right now: increasing staffing levels or reducing the inmate population? Why?
