Rikers Correctional Facility
Rikers Correctional Facility, one of the largest and most well-known jails in the United States, significantly impacts the correctional landscape. This directory offers articles and resources on the facility’s history, challenges, reforms, and broader implications for the correctional system. Understanding the complexities of Rikers is crucial for those studying or working in corrections. For related topics, explore our section on Correctional Facilities.
The basis for the lock-ins was recorded in official logbooks in only three of the seven instances, the report found
A remediation manager will have sweeping powers over staff discipline, hiring and use-of-force oversight at Rikers
As the jail population outpaces capacity, officials explore psychiatric facilities for sites originally meant to replace Rikers Island
Under a new executive order, federal agencies can conduct criminal probes and intelligence sharing on gang activity and crimes committed within the jail
The NYCDOC last went to 12-hour tours during the 2021 and 2022 staffing crisis when hundreds of COs became sick during the pandemic; the policy was lifted in 2022
ICE
Mayor Eric Adams said that allowing ICE onto Rikers Island will help the correctional intelligence bureau in criminal investigations focused on gangs and violent criminals
Corrections Officer Shamika Mitchell was struck from behind by an inmate in an unprovoked attack, leaving her hospitalized with a fractured orbital bone
NYC DOC leaders say the Special Management Unit is needed to control violence and ensure safety at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center
The inmate sucker-punched the CO in the head from behind, causing serious injuries
Security footage showed officers walking past the unresponsive detainee before eventually cutting him down; prosecutors said their inaction broke the law
The initiative is part of a broader effort to support correction officers’ health, including peer programs and resilience training
Investigators say correction officers blocked care for a sick woman on six separate occasions, leading to her death from organ failure
The judge found the NYC DOC failed to comply with 18 separate provisions of court orders pertaining to security, staffing, use of force and the safety of young detainees
On average, just 11 of the 71 items, or 15%, that had tested positive for fentanyl in the field tests also tested positive in the lab, a Department of Investigation report states
“Officers Barbosa Jr., Stanislaus and McQueen are shining examples of what it means to be a DOC hero,” the NYCDOC commissioner said, adding their training averted a tragedy
A lawyer argued the city should be held in contempt as Rikers Island is “more violent and less safe” than when reforms began in 2015
The April 6, 2023, blaze, which injured 15 Rikers Island jail staffers and five inmates, was set by a 30-year-old inmate with a history of starting jailhouse fires
All NYCDOC body-worn cameras were pulled after a CO’s caught fire at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island
Robert Boom, a 13-year NYDOC correction officer, collapsed on duty. Resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.
The new jails are being built using the design-build format that is supposed to speed up construction, according to the city’s Department of Design and Construction
The suspension comes as the NYC DOC has expanded the use of body scanners in the jails to check staff for possible contraband
Rikers Island, NYC jails plagued with bugs, mice, cleanliness violations, says federal court monitor
Overall, inspectors found just 73 of 200 living areas were clean enough to comply with court requirements
Of the 50 incidents studied, pepper spray was used 24 times against mentally ill detainees, even though policy first requires consultation with mental health staff, the report said
The detainee blamed in the crash, a homicide suspect, got into the bus’s driver seat after a CO left the bus unattended outside the courthouse, the DOC said
One detainee was severely burned and several others suffered smoke inhalation in the April 6 fire, which the report confirmed was sparked by a detainee angry over losing personal possessions during a search
“I’ve never seen another human being look at someone like that, he had this look in his eyes, like you’re not getting out of here if you have a pulse,’” CO Kristen Lonnborg said
The federal monitor said the need for fire suppression is “particularly acute for a unit attempting to re-house known fire-setters and thereby reduce arsons”
“Practices for reporting stabbings/slashings are so unregulated that the monitor no longer has confidence in the accuracy of the department’s data in this area,” the monitoring team said
The Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center, a five-story jail barge with 800 beds, opened as a temporary measure in 1982 to relieve crowding on Rikers Island
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