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Council's criminal justice hearing spotlights plans to restore jail programming and expand reentry supports
Summary
At a City Council Criminal Justice Committee hearing, agency leaders outlined plans to restore nonprofit-run programs on Rikers, expand transitional housing, and clarify how the city will meet legal requirements such as five hours of daily out-of-cell programming and education mandates for young adults. No vote was taken on Intro. 246 during the session.
Council members heard detailed testimony on Wednesday about how the city plans to rebuild and expand programming designed to reduce recidivism and improve reentry outcomes.
Chair Silvina Brooks Powers opened the Committee on Criminal Justice hearing by describing the agenda: agencies would report on jail programming and reentry and respond to a bill, Intro. 246, that would require the Department of Correction to return unused commissary funds to people before release.
Deanna Logan, director of the mayor's office of criminal justice (MACJ), framed the policy rationale: "Public health is public safety," she said, and described recent system-level data showing the jail population rose to about 6,836 since 2022. Logan and MACJ staff stressed that many people in custody have complex behavioral-health and housing needs and that the city's transitional housing program is funded for 1,000 beds with roughly 800 online.
Newly appointed Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards described a strategy built on four pillars: safe, humane jails; stronger partnerships; population reduction tied to a continuum of care; and preparation for borough-based jails. "Safety is…
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