Number of Rikers correction officers drops under Adams, but still about 3 times the national average

The number of correction officers staffing New York City’s jails has dipped sharply under Mayor Eric Adams, even as the number of detainees has risen, according to city data.

Still, staffing levels are more than three times what research shows is the national average – with officers in New York City outnumbering the people they oversee.

Since 2021, the number of correction officers at Rikers Island has dropped about 25 percent, according to preliminary figures from the city’s Independent Budget Office. The Department of Correction and the mayor’s office both declined to comment on the reasons for the staffing drop, and would not say whether it’s intentional. But the officers’ union, the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, blamed the City Council and former mayor Bill de Blasio for what they called a “staffing crisis.”

“They made our working conditions so bad that people were leaving and resigning at record numbers,” union President Benny Boscio said. “I believe that Adams is trying to hire correction officers. We just had a class of 120 officers in July. They are anticipating another 500-recruit class in October.”

Among city leaders and experts, there is disagreement about the number of correction officers needed at Rikers. While the union maintains that more officers are required, a federal monitor appointed to oversee the jails said in a report last month that the department “has a very rich complement of staff,” but noted that poor supervision and outdated tracking systems have led to unstaffed posts and some staff members working triple shifts.

“Making sure they come to work in the first instance and are then appropriately assigned to posts in a manner that ensures proper coverage in the facilities has always been the issue,” the monitor’s July 10 report said.

Comptroller Brad Lander said even with fewer officers, staffing levels are too high to excuse the violence and deaths reported on Rikers this year.

“Uniformed officers outnumber detained individuals in custody, yet seven people already died in custody [this year] and violent incidents are on the rise – proof that the agency cannot keep incarcerated people or their staff safe,” he said.

A federal judge will hear arguments as soon as this week over whether to appoint a federal receiver of city jails following a series of scathing court filings that described escalating violence and correction officials hiding information about violent incidents, including deaths.

A spokesperson for the Independent Budget Office which tracks Rikers staffing, said the office plans to take a “deeper dive,” into correction officer staffing, but declined to elaborate.

As recently as 2021, correction officials reported that nearly a third of the officers were calling in sick, or otherwise unable to work with detainees. They said at the time that the remaining officers were struggling to do things like deliver food and escort detainees to medical appointments.

Correction officials say they have significantly reduced absenteeism. According to data collected by the comptroller’s office, the number of officers calling out sick fell from a high of 22% in September of 2021 to 7% of all uniformed staff in June.