Out of time: The crisis at Rikers demands a new approach
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Deliberate execution of well-thought-out government plans is generally a virtue, as most public policy problems demand attention to the nuts and bolts. But some problems rise to the level of emergency, where a calm, patient approach is less reassuring and more dismissive. If a hurricane is bearing down on the city, it’s not time to talk about sea walls that will be up next decade.
We know that Correction Commissioner Louis Molina is a well-meaning manager, and we commend him for the progress he’s demonstrated in a few short months after many years of declining conditions and abdication of duty from prior executives that has left Rikers as a point of international ignominy.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough.
Over months of tweaking plans and responding to concerns from advocates and lawmakers, Molina and other city officials have made positive but ultimately too vague and too slow-moving commitments. Even with a string of recent deaths in custody, addressing the critical state of detainee mental and physical health seems like an afterthought.
As Federal Monitor Steve Martin pointedly wrote in his latest status report, “the Department has not made any progress toward the overall goal of reducing the use of force and violence since the Consent Judgment went into effect in late 2015—in fact, the opposite has occurred.” The DOC can try to tout reforms, but too often it has been opaque with the public and even oversight entities like the federal monitor and the Board of Correction about basic questions like staffing levels and the numbers of units that go unsupervised on any given day.
No one is arguing that a federal receiver will be a silver bullet that will instantly address the deep-seated issues on Rikers. Yet a receiver can deliver an immediate administrative shift that will take authority away from the entrenched powers, whether that’s the correction union or the administration’s desire to retain control and not be seen as admitting defeat. After decades of failure, it’s time for a new approach.
