Press Release - Department of Correction

City of New York Department of Correction

HomeAbout DOC - Mission Statement - Commissioner\'s Bio - Management Bios - Locate a Facility - Emergency Service Unit - Intelligence Unit - T.E.A.M.S. - History of DOCHow Do I - Become a CO - Visit an Inmate - Deliver Permissible Items - Post Bail - Obtain Legal Passes - Schedule an Attorney Visit - Schedule a Videoconference - Get Inmate Release Notification - Get to Rikers Island - Become a DOC Volunteer - Join DOC Law Enforcement Explorers ProgramJob OpportunitiesContractingNewsDirectivesFormsDOC StatisticsContact DOC


	Press Release - January 6, 2006 SECURITY IMPROVES IN CITY JAILS Violence indicators continue to decline The New York City Department of Correction recorded continued declines for 2005 in five of six major security indicators used to measure security in the City's jail system, including a record low in assaults on staff. These reductions follow a new program to interdict drugs from entering the jails that was introduced at the beginning of the year and improved random search procedures. "The results are very encouraging and reflect the hard work, dedication and attention to detail of the men and women of the Department," said Correction Commissioner Martin F. Horn. "These reductions, beyond mere numbers, mean that the workplace is safer for our staff as well as the 100,000-plus inmates we admit annually. In the critical category of inmate assaults on staff with serious injury, there was a 30% decline in 2005 over 2004, from 57 down to 39. Additionally, serious Use of Force incidents were down by 30%, from 94 to 66. 2005 was also a year in which there were no homicides or escapes from custody. The one indicator that realized a slight increase was in inmate-on-inmate stabbing and slashing incidents, up by 1 in 2005 over 2004, from 34 to 35. However, the 2005 total is still a reduction of 29% from 2003, when slashing/stabbing incidents totaled 49. In an effort to stop contraband drugs from entering jails, the Department began a program to randomly drug test inmates last January that is now operational at seven jails on Rikers Island. To date, just over 15,000 inmates have been tested, with a positive rate of 4%, down from the first months of the program when the rate was between 6% and 7%. At the same time the use of passive alert canine searches of inmates and visitors was increased, almost doubling in 2005 over 2004, from 530 in 2004 to more than 1,000 last year. Both measures have slowed the amount of drugs smuggled into the jails. The number of drug finds during searches for 2005 (through November) stands at 526, with the year expected to record fewer than 580. This compares to 655 drug finds in 2004.