News

Testimony before the
New York City Council
Committee on Criminal Justice
Chair Sandy Nurse
By
Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, Commissioner
NYC Department of Correction
March 7, 2025

 

Good morning, Chair Nurse and members of the Committee on Criminal Justice. I am Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction (“Department” or “DOC”). My colleagues and I are here to discuss the Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2026. Today, I will provide you with insight on how my team and I are working to address some of our most pressing challenges to ensure our jails remain safe and humane. I will also provide you with an overview of the Department’s fiscal year 2026 Preliminary Budget.

State of the Jails

As we move into this next fiscal year, we must confront some hard truths. Despite any hopes to the contrary, the jail population continues to rise. Between January 1, 2022 and today, the Department has experienced a remarkable 32 percent increase in the population. In the last year alone, the population has increased over 10 percent. Today, the census is approximately 6,900, which is the highest it has been since 2019. This number is not in line with what was envisioned for the borough-based jails, nor our current jails on Rikers Island. The physical plant of our jail system as it exists today is not equipped to house an ever-increasing population, especially given our current staffing levels. The Department has been proactive in monitoring population and staffing levels, as well as facility conditions and capacity demands. It is our goal at all times to uphold safe, secure, and humane conditions for people in custody and our staff. With this in mind, the Department developed and executed a plan to increase bed space in certain housing areas throughout the jails to ensure available beds for those coming into our care. This work remains ongoing as we anticipate further increases to the population in the coming weeks. In tandem with increase capacity, we are exploring every avenue to decrease the population in the short and long term. Recently, the Department revised policies and procedures to tackle a longstanding issue and streamline the process by which attorneys can meet with their clients on Rikers and review electronic discovery documents. This will support speedier case processing and reduce lengths of stay. We also continue to meet with stakeholders throughout the criminal justice system to impress upon them the urgency of the situation and develop collaborative strategies to bring down rates of new admission and safely reduce the population.

As the Council is aware, the Department has been experiencing a continuing staffing crisis. Today, the Department employs approximately 6,000 uniformed members of service. That is a 20 percent decrease from January 2022. Nearly 250 members of service are currently eligible to retire, and 450 more will become eligible to retire by the end of the of the year. By the end of 2026, approximately 750 more will be eligible to retire. Recruitment and retention of law enforcement staff has been a challenge nationally, and the reality is that the Department’s recruitment classes are not keeping up with levels of attrition. For us, it is extremely important to focus on building up our uniformed staff, and providing them with opportunities for support, wellness, and growth. In the last year, uniformed and non-uniformed staff participated in professional growth opportunities to enhance soft skills and leadership development, to ensure we have a deep bench of leaders to sustain the agency well into the future. We have also been focused on bolstering our dedicated Correction Assistance Response for Employees (“CARE”) staff, who regularly provide a holistic range of support and resources for all members of service. This calendar year, we are partnering with a vendor to provide training and professional development for our CARE staff on topics such as resiliency, mindfulness strategies, mental health awareness and suicide prevention, and more. But training is just one tool we are wielding in our effort to enhance staff wellness and retention; we are also opening wellness centers and other spaces for staff to relax and practice mindfulness throughout the commands. We opened the first wellness center for staff at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center (OBCC), as well as a staff wellness center in our Brooklyn court facility, and plan to open more centers in the months to come.

Later this month, we will swear in over 100 new correction officers. These recruits have undergone comprehensive training to ensure they are prepared to serve with professionalism and integrity as stewards of public safety. We are excited to welcome the next generation of public servants to the Boldest family, and we are intent on raising them up to be leaders within our jails and our city. The staff in our facilities work long hours in difficult and stressful conditions; our actions as leaders must demonstrate to them our appreciation and genuine care. Providing these resources shows our staff that – for all they do to protect the wellbeing of others – their wellbeing matters to us. When we invest in our staff and give them what they need, they will show up as their best selves, and help nurture a culture of service that creates better jails and better outcomes for those in our care.

2024 Highlights

The challenges ahead of us are not insurmountable, and we have the momentum of many great accomplishments in 2024 to carry us forward. Despite a growing population and decreasing staff, the Department made significant strides in safety, security, and providing vital support to both our staff and those in our care. These holistic efforts have had a measurable impact on our jails in 2024, compared to 2023: slashings and stabbings decreased by 23 percent and assaults on staff fell by 23 percent.

We have been focusing on modernizing services and infrastructure across all areas of operation. Last year, the Department implemented several new technology systems to support increased transparency and accountability, as well as improve our ability to run the jails safely and efficiently. Some of these initiatives include an electronic case management system, to coordinate tracking and reporting of incidents across the jails; the rollout of new body-worn cameras, requiring all uniformed staff, regardless of rank or assignment, to equip a body-worn camera as part of their uniform; Rapiscan drug testing machines designed to significantly improve the detection of drugs via inbound mail; and a new programs tracking system, which tracks the progress that people in custody make as they attend sessions and triggers an automatic reclassification when programmatic milestones are reached. We received several federal grants last year to support many of these efforts, including funding to expand substance misuse services. The Division of Programs and Community Partnerships has also launched several meaningful initiatives, to support people in our care and their loved ones. In 2024, in partnership with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan (“CMOM”), we launched CMOM hubs at the Rose M. Singer and George R. Vierno Centers. These interactive play spaces promote bonding between parents and children during visits, having a positive and lasting impact on their relationships. In addition, we welcome the Council’s support in promoting the free visitor shuttle bus we offer to all New Yorkers who wish to visit a loved one in our facilities. We know visits have an immediate impact on people's rehabilitation and behavior while in custody and whatever we can do to maintain that support is beneficial.

We know firsthand that programs are a cornerstone to creating a safer environment for both staff and people in custody and have been working hard to meaningfully expand services, considering the needs that people in custody have expressed through our focus groups. In January, DOC released a multi-million-dollar challenge-based procurement to solicit proposals to provide expanded programmatic services for people in custody. The four challenges focus on finding solutions for supplemental education services, trauma-informed care, substance misuse, and transition planning and transportation. We are excited to welcome a new wave of providers into the jails to provide these critical services.

In addition, last year was a year of growth for the Department’s leadership team. Mr. Fritz Fragé, who sits with me here today, has been appointed Senior Deputy Commissioner, overseeing the administration and management of all Departmental facilities, security, and field commands. He brings a wealth of law enforcement and innovation experience, previously serving as the Director of Public Safety for the City of Newark, New Jersey. We have also appointed several Deputy Commissioners, including Nell McCarty, our new Deputy Commissioner of Programs and Community Partnerships, and Kevin Doherty, our new Deputy Commissioner of Facilities and Maintenance and Repair and Fleet Administration, who also join us today. We are excited to welcome these outstanding leaders to the team and look forward to their contributions in advancing our mission.

The Department’s Fiscal Year 2026 Preliminary Budget

Now I will briefly turn to the fiscal year 2026 Preliminary Budget. As of the fiscal year 2026 Preliminary Budget, the Department’s budget is $1.2 billion. The vast majority of this – 84 percent – is allocated for Personal Services, and 16 percent for Other than Personal Services. The fiscal year 2026 Preliminary Budget increased by $55 million compared to FY25 budget of $1.16 billion. Some of the increases to the Preliminary Budget include funding for:

• Uniforms for persons in custody, with $1.8 million baselined starting in fiscal year 2025. Individuals currently in custody continue to be issued uniforms and undergarments throughout their stay, and some may need replacing due to normal wear and tear. We are also considering the increase in population, as well as the increase in new admissions; and
• Food for persons in custody, with $4.3 million baselined starting in fiscal year 2026. The additional funding supports increasing food needs for the Department resulting from an increase in population, as well an increase in food prices; and
• Cell door replacement, with $2.4 million baselined starting in fiscal year 2025; and
• Recruitment advertising, with $4.2 million allocated in fiscal year 2025, and $5 million baselined in fiscal year 2026.

Capital Funding

The FY25 Preliminary Capital Budget and Commitment Plan totals $14.6 billion, which covers Fiscal Years 2025 through 2035. As of the FY26 Preliminary Budget, the majority of capital funding is tied to the borough-based jails program which totals $13.9 billion over the ten-year plan and is allocated as follows:

• Brooklyn Facility - $2.3 billion
• Manhattan Facility - $4.1 billion
• Bronx Facility - $3.1 billion
• Queens Facility - $4 billion

Headcount

We continue to work diligently to attract and retain both civilian and uniformed staff. Total authorized headcount is: 8,806; 7,060 uniformed positions and 1,746 civilian positions. Our actual uniformed staffing levels remain well below our authorized headcount and the Department plans to use the new needs approved for recruitment advertisement in the Preliminary Budget to be aggressive with advertising and marketing strategies to promote recruitment.

Conclusion

As we look to the year ahead, we also reflect on a history of individual and collective achievements, and innovation. This year marks the Department’s 130th anniversary. For 130 years, the bold men and women of this agency have served this city with bravery and resilience. They have dedicated their careers to changing lives by caring for the people in our custody and keeping them safe. Their commitment to this city extends beyond the jails; DOC members of service support critical public safety efforts throughout all five boroughs and beyond, and were among the first responders who supported the rescue and recovery efforts following the 9/11 attacks. DOC members of service were also deployed to support relief in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and gave back to their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, donating thousands of pounds of food to non-profits serving the most vulnerable New Yorkers. This is not an exhaustive list; members of the Boldest family have given so much to their communities and this city, and they deserve to be celebrated. I have said it before, and I will say it again: heroes work at the New York City Department of Correction. I am grateful for the heroism they display everyday – seen and unseen – whether it be during their tours or when called to support in times of great need, and I celebrate the difficult work they do.

As public servants, my team and I will continue to bring the same unwavering energy and commitment to our work, building on the progress we’ve made to ensure it’s sustainable, and that this agency is safer and fairer for decades to come. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My colleagues and I are available to answer your questions.