The Mamdani administration is trying to \u201cresponsibly\u201d shrink New York City\u2019s jail population as decrepit Rikers Island fills up and the Department of Correction faces a dire staffing crunch, officials said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
DOC Commissioner Stanley Richards, who was appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani <\/a>last month, described a system under acute strain and badly in need of overhaul during a City Council hearing.<\/p>\n \u201cTransforming a system like ours is not like turning a speedboat,\u201d he told the council\u2019s committee on criminal justice. \u201cIt\u2019s like turning a cruise ship.\u201d<\/p>\n Lockups are operating at about 92% capacity \u2014 \u201cthe highest level seen in more than a decade,\u201d Richards said \u2014 a density he warned \u201ccreates additional operational pressure across housing, staffing and service delivery every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n Correction officers at jails Rikers are dealing with crumbling infrastructure amid exploding inmate populations. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n The average daily jail population reached about 7,100 in the 2026 fiscal year, nearly a 10% increase over the previous annual period, and about 43% higher than in 2021 \u2014 though then-Mayor Bill de Blasio had freed hundreds of Rikers inmates<\/a> during the COVID pandemic in 2020.<\/p>\n At the same time, staffing levels have thinned, with the DOC currently employing just 5,600 uniformed officers, far below the 7,060 positions funded as part of the last city budget \u2014 and with a wave of retirements looming, Richards said.<\/p>\n More than 800 officers are already eligible to retire, another 235 will reach eligibility next year and 400 more by the end of 2028, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to get out because they don\u2019t feel safe and they don\u2019t feel valued,\u201d Richards told the council.<\/p>\n The Mamdani administration plans to \u201cresponsibly\u201d reduce inmate populations in New York City. William Farrington for NY Post<\/p>\n Staff at Rikers face brutal working conditions, Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers\u2019 Benevolent Association, testified during the hearing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re dealing with the challenges of a very dangerous environment that comes with supervising a population where 70% of the people in custody are facing violent felony charges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Boscio said officers were assaulted more than 660 times last year, including more than 260 \u201csplashing incidents,\u201d in which people in custody mix urine, feces and sometimes blood and throw it in guards\u2019 faces.<\/p>\n He counted 25 sexual assaults on female officers, more than 170 spitting incidents and over 120 stabbings.<\/p>\n A female corrections officer was slashed by an inmate just below her eye last week. Obtained by NY Post<\/p>\n Last week, a female officer was slashed by an inmate just below her eye, Boscio said.<\/p>\n