Dear New Yorkers,

No one should have to wait three years for their day in court – in the inhumane and violent conditions of Rikers Island, or anywhere else.

And yet right now, thousands of inmates are awaiting trial on Rikers – for days, weeks, months, or even years on end, waiting while their cases are processed. Meanwhile, jail population and jail violence have increased sharply in recent years, as my office tracks.

One reason why this is happening? Our latest report reveals how case processing times in New York City courts are getting increasingly longer and longer – contributing to the humanitarian crisis in City jails, and resulting in more people locked up awaiting trial than our jail system can sustain.

We must get back on track to close Rikers.

For this report, my team analyzed Department of Correction (DOC) data between 2019 and 2023. Here are a couple key numbers that reveal the very real human costs of prolonged court processing times:

• The number of cases that took longer than three years to process increased by a whopping 179%. 
• The DOC spent more than $500,000 per person incarcerated in 2023 – a significant increase of $182,000 within the last decade.

This isn’t normal. Criminal cases in New York City take significantly longer to process through the court systems than any other comparable jail system in the country.

Because of these delays, thousands of people are left awaiting trial in City jails (like wretched Rikers) for months or even years longer than necessary, with the City’s future jail capacity stretched to the limit and precious City taxpayer dollars wasted in the process.

It doesn’t have to be this way. By expediting cases in time in line with national best practices, updating byzantine technology, and implementing systemic reforms, we could reduce the jail population. You can read all of our recommendations here.

As a result of incarcerating less people, we could save taxpayers more than $875 million a year and keep our communities safer. And we’ll be significantly closer to finally closing Rikers Island and achieving the justice system New Yorkers deserve.

Learn more about our new report on NYC court case processing times.

Thanks,

Brad

The Office of New York City Comptroller

Our mailing address is:
Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
United States

This email was sent to [email protected]. If you wish to no longer receive these messages, please unsubscribe. unsubscribe