In 2015, City Limits published the most comprehensive look to date at the political and policy dimensions of closing Rikers Island. Read those stories and our continuing coverage below.
Citing rising violence, the city’s Department of Correction wants more ability to block visits or curtail physical contact. Opponents say the proposed changes are based on bad data and could do more harm than good.
On a per capita basis, state inmates are less likely than city prisoners to be perpetrators or victims of violence. But the numbers point to a persistent suicide problem and a rising use of force.
The revelations about systemic brutality in the city’s jails point to the critical role that captains—the first layer of leadership over correction officers—play.
Amid a sharp increase in fights and injuries, a former corrections officer lays out a plan to avoid more bloodshed.
There’s been a 44 percent jump in the number of punitive segregation cells in city jails the past two years. Jail officials say it’s to prevent violence, but advocates argue the punishment is counterproductive.
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Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
