City Jail Population Surpasses 7,000, Headed in Wrong Direction for Close-Rikers Plan

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - March 22, 2025 - PRLog -- REUVEN BLAU, DME Music News

The population on Rikers Island has risen to 7,067 people this week, the highest total since 2019 — and almost twice as high as the target number needed for the longstanding plan to transfer incarceration operations to four borough-based jails.

Department of Correction officials blame a host of factors: the state prison strike jamming so-called state-ready detainees on Rikers; lack of bed space in mental hospitals; and recent legal changes to court procedures supposedly dragging court cases on for longer periods.

While the penal island has a maximum capacity of at least 10,000 in multiple buildings, the population increase jeopardizes the $16 billion plan to close Rikers jails by 2027 as required by a de Blasio-era law.

The borough-based jail initiative calls for the construction of four smaller detention facilities near courthouses in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, altogether holding 4,160 jail beds, along with 363 hospital beds.

Due to a series of delays, the new jails are not expected to be completed until 2032, according to the most recent timeline based on city contracts. Missing the 2027 deadline would result in court proceedings that could end in fines or orders that people be moved to other jails or released.

An estimated 122,304 people were arrested and prosecuted in 2024, up from 109,965 in 2023 and 92,662 in 2022, according to the New York City Criminal Justice Agency. The number has steadily gone up over the past five years since the pandemic broke out in 2020, the records show.

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https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/03/20/rikers-population-tops-7000/