From violence to squalid conditions that endanger both inmates and corrections officers, Rikers Island has plenty of problems — but at least new arrivals to the correctional facility are being processed faster.
So said Mayor Bill de Blasio at his Tuesday briefing in touting that the Corrections Department is now spending an average of 5 1/2 hours intaking new inmates at Rikers. For weeks, inmate intake had been “a serious, serious concern,” the mayor noted, as a shortage of space and corrections officers had caused large backups in processing — with many inmates waiting up to a full day for completion.
