Conditions at Rikers are getting worse, not better, and the leadership installed by Mayor Eric Adams has been uncooperative since he took office, the federal monitor overseeing issues at the controversial jail said in a scathing report.
But the city Department of Correction defended itself, saying violence is down at the jail and staffing is improving.
"The first few months of 2022 have revealed the jails remain unstable and unsafe for both inmates and staff. The volatility and instability in the jails is due, in no small part, to unacceptable levels of fear of harm by detainees and staff alike," court-appointed monitor Steve Martin wrote in a special report dated Wednesday.
"Despite initial hopes that the Second Remedial Order ... entered in September 2021, would help the Department gain traction toward initiating reform on the most immediate issues, the Department’s attempts to implement the required remedial steps have faltered and, in some instances, regressed."
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Martin's report was unsparing in its criticism of the DOC, referring to an "entrenched culture of dysfunction" and saying site visits last month created the impression that staff had effectively given up.
But he reserved some of his strongest barbs for the new DOC administration that came in at the start of the year when Mayor Adams took office.
"Since the New Year, the Department has altered its management of its compliance efforts with the Monitoring Team to essentially eliminate the proactive and collaborative approach that previously existed, reduced its level of cooperation, and limited its information-sharing and access in ways which inhibit the work of the Monitoring Team," he wrote.
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Among other complaints, the monitor said the DOC has refused to provide staffing data, declined to provide requested safety briefings, changed safety orders without consulting with the monitoring team - and allegedly made the active decision not to tell the monitors about problems that had been uncovered.
Martin, appointed pursuant to a 2015 settlement of a long-running suit over brutality at Rikers, asked the court to order the DOC to resume fully cooperating with his staff.
The DOC, in a statement, defended its work and the progress it was making.
“Even before joining DOC in January, I was well-aware of the history of problems facing the Department. We must do better, and we can do better. We are moving forward as swiftly as possible to fix longstanding issues,” Correction Commissioner Louis A. Molina said. “I am also committed to supporting our staff as much as possible, such as bringing the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and related support programs back in person at Rikers. We must invest in our employees and our infrastructure today and as we move forward.”
