Adi Talwar
Rikers Island.
“Economically it is not feasible, and the practice flies in the face of the social justice that we value as Americans. Failure to implement a smart, strategic, well-informed, and well-constructed decarceration policy will result in repeating all of the mistakes and the outcomes of the deinstitutionalization of mental health institutions.”
‘We must recognize that the culture of violence exists on Rikers Island – and will continue to exist in the new borough facilities that will be built – if concrete measures aren’t taken to directly address and effectively reduce the violence that exists currently.’
Whether the timeline is three years or 10, a former Correction captain lays out the issues facing policymakers, officers and inmates.
A veteran DOC officer writes: ‘We simply must develop the will to expend the money for services and staff, rather than on restraint chairs and solitary cells.’
A former corrections captain maps out a planning process that to create the community detention facilities New York needs.
Is the uptick in knife violence on the streets a reflection of the increase in conflict inside the city’s jails?
Anna M. Kross broke gender barriers and charted new territory in making city jails humane. But the Rikers facility named in her honor is at the center of the city’s failure to honor her legacy in treating the mentally ill.
“Closing Rikers Island is a great idea – but we must have fully operational alternatives in place first, not just some half-baked notions that are destined to fail.”
A retired corrections captain writes that without a strong mental-health component, attempts to end financial bail will fail.
Amid the outrage over treatment of jail inmates, corrections officials must also think about how the system treats its employers.Nationwide, COs have a suicide rate 39 percent higher than the rest of the working-age population.
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