NYC Comptroller Releases New Monthly Data on Department of Correction Operations
Updated dashboard, presented today to the Board of Correction, now shows 18% of people in custody have serious mental illness
The New York City Comptroller’s Office released a 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 court and medical appointments, and incidents of violence among detained people and staff. It also tracks the jail population on Rikers Island, which rose slightly in August and, at 5,712, remains well above the capacity of the borough-based jails intended to replace the notorious complex.
The August data shows small changes since July, with little overall improvement in the key metrics tracked by the dashboard:
- Jail population is 5,712 as of September 1, 2022 (up 4 people from last month and up 312 people [6%] since the start of January)
- 12% of staff out sick/day as of August (no change from July)
- 8% of staff identified as medically restricted/day as of August (down from 9% in July)
- 68 assaults on staff in August (up 3 from July)
- 38 slashings and stabbings in August (down 5 from July)
The share of uniformed staff out on sick leave remains abnormally high, at 12% of the Department’s employees with little improvement from the month prior. While the total number of slashings and stabbings is down slightly from July, 2022 is poised to be see even more violence than last year. The year-to-date total of slashings and stabbings is now at 336, up 34% from the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, the length of stays for people in custody — the vast majority of whom are detained pre-trial — continues to grow and currently averages 114 days, up from 105 last month.