Federal Monitor

Jails

Federal Judge Kicks Rikers Receivership Question Down Road

Nov. 17, 2022, 7:46 p.m.Nov. 18, 2022, 7:54 a.m.

Any court battle over whether control of city jails should be transferred to a federal overseer will have to wait until April, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Thursday.

Department of Correction

Civilianization at City Correction Department Stalls Despite New Vows

Oct. 7, 2022, 6:45 p.m.Oct. 7, 2022, 6:45 p.m.

It’s been slow going so far for a plan that a judge will assess in November while deciding whether or not to take away control of the city’s jails.

Rikers Island

Rikers Could Soon Have a Federal Receiver — How Have Takeovers Worked in Other U.S. Jails?

Sept. 29, 2022, 8:52 p.m.Oct. 4, 2022, 3:59 p.m.

Corrections departments in California and Chicago highlight benefits and challenges of moves to place chaotic lockups under outside control.

Rikers Island

What Federal Receivership Might Mean for Troubled City Jails

Sept. 19, 2022, 7:49 p.m.Sept. 19, 2022, 11:55 p.m.

With the plan to shut down Rikers Island looming, the Department of Correction is prepping for a battle over control of all city lockups.

Jails

Court Should Consider Taking Over Dept. of Correction, Warns Manhattan U.S. Attorney

April 19, 2022, 8:13 p.m.April 19, 2022, 8:28 p.m.

Citing an “extraordinary level of violence and disorder” in city jails, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams wrote an angry letter to a federal judge on Tuesday saying his next step would be “more aggressive relief.”

Jails

Rikers Report Calls 2021 ‘Most Dangerous Year’ Amid Escalating Jailhouse Violence

Dec. 6, 2021, 9:18 p.m.Dec. 6, 2021, 9:18 p.m.

The federal monitor overseeing city jails decried a “system that is rife with violence and disorder” as Rikers Island reels from chaos. It’s the worst year since the overseer was appointed in 2015, according to his latest dispatch.

Incarceration

City Jails Roiled by ‘Disorder and Chaos,’ Feds Say as Correction Boss Quits

May 11, 2021, 10:05 p.m.May 11, 2021, 10:10 p.m.

Use of force against inmates at Rikers Island and other local lockups hits five-year high, according to the federal monitor appointed to oversee the troubled system as part of a 2015 class-action lawsuit settlement.