The new policy allows three serious types of misconduct uses of force, mistaken releases of detainees and sleeping on duty to be handled for the first time by low-level command disciplines, with penalties ranging from a stern talking to by a facility boss to 10 lost vacation days.
Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio said the results of the proposed solitary confinement ban would be similar to “a rapist going back on the streets four hours” after committing their crime. He said 1,500 officers have been attacked since January.
After four Department of Correction commissioners, the landmark agreement that led to a federal monitor of Rikers in 2016 hasn’t resulted in significant change. In fact, ongoing staffing dysfunction has arguably made conditions worse, according to statements by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office, the monitor, and legal advocates for detainees.
The daily records from Sept. 27, 2021 through Jan. 26, 2022 shed new light on the egregious abuse of the Correction Department’s sick leave system. The staffing crisis, which is ongoing, is one of the main drivers of dysfunction in city jails, according to a court-appointed federal monitor.