"Rikers doesn't rehabilitate. It destabilizes. According to the Blueprint to Close Rikers report released by the Independent Rikers Commission earlier this year, 84 percent of people in Rikers are held pre-trial, waiting for their court date, presumed innocent under the law. This number includes over 500 people who have been held in Rikers for over two years. And yet, whether detained pre-trial or serving a sentence, people leave Rikers worse off than when they entered. That alone makes our city less safe."
"Rather than preparing people to return to their communities and live successful lives, Rikers breeds trauma, violence, and despair. It's a place where brutality is routine, committed by and against staff and detainees alike. Court delays are rampant, and many are forced to languish behind bars for months or even years without a conviction. Rikers has also become a de facto mental health facility-one that catastrophically fails at providing care."
A man held at Rikers Island died, the fifth death in city custody in two weeks and the 12th this year, reflecting systemic collapse. For decades the sprawling, decaying jail complex has failed, posing a direct threat to public safety. A commission evaluating closure concluded the system is broken, dangerous, and unsustainable. Rikers destabilizes rather than rehabilitates; 84 percent of people there are held pre-trial, including over 500 detained more than two years, and many leave worse off than when they entered. Brutality is routine, court delays force long pretrial detention, and the facility exacerbates mental illness, undermining rehabilitation and public safety.
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