Nicholas Deml, the first-ever remediation manager appointed by a federal judge to turn around Rikers Island, released his first report on Tuesday outlining concrete steps for the city’s Department of Correction to take to fix its notorious jail complex.
Highly anticipated, much is riding on this plan for the city and for Deml — after years of previous correction commissioners failing to successfully address violence and systemic failures on Rikers Island.
What You Need To Know
Nicholas Deml was appointed the remediation manager of Rikers Island in January
He released his first major report Tuesday, outlining how to start improving things in city jails
The judge must approve his plan
In the report, Deml acknowledged that past, saying, “Yet violence remains pervasive, basic correctional practices remain unreliable, and unconstitutional conditions persist. The system has reached the point where incrementalism is itself a form of failure.”
So he put forward a plan with five key priority areas, including addressing the real security concerns in city jails.
For example, by September, the city must document the number and location of all the jails’ defective doors
Broken doors, including cell doors, have long plagued Rikers.
By October, the city must give Deml and his team a new replacement schedule.
He is also directing the city to come up with a new pilot program to house detainees who commit the most serious acts of violence in city jails. The current model has long been controversial.
And he has ordered an expansion of programming for detainees, which he estimates could cost $50 million.
Many elements in the 28-page report have been proposed before, and the department has failed to implement them.
This time, Deml wrote that he has been working with the department’s leadership to make changes and is encouraged things can move forward.
In a statement in response to the report, the correction commissioner said: “We believe our entire justice system can and should be something New Yorkers are proud of. This plan, and the work already underway, is only the beginning, and we look forward to working with the Remediation Manager and his team to implement it. There is a much brighter future ahead.”
While the steps outlined in Deml’s plan are nothing new, the court has empowered him to take unprecedented steps should progress be difficult to find.
He knows that.
“I do not hold this responsibility lightly. But I will use my full authority to bring immediate and lasting change to the City jails,” Deml wrote.