Rikers remedy
City’s $32M mental health plan to aid most violent inmates
THE CITY’S most dangerous inmates will get more intensive mental health treatment — part of an effort to stave off violence behind bars.
Mayor de Blasio earmarked $32.5 million, split between the correction and health departments, to create four observation units for the he most aggressive inmates. Officials als say about 20 to 40 inmates at a time me — all of them with severe mental illnesses — will get customized treatment in the special observation unit.
At the same time, there will six be intensive housing areas fashioned to help corral the most violent offenders.
“Our goal is to bring down violence,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Joe Ponte. “This his budget shows New York City is serious about safer jails and better management of the growing percentage of mentally ill people in custody.”
Nearly 40% of the 11,000 daily inmates at Rikers have been diagnosed with a mental illness, and they account for half of the violent incidents inside the jail complex, officials said.
The slice of the mayor’s $75 billion budget — $27.3 million to the Correction Department and $5.2 million to the Health Department — will also pay for nurses in the observation units. The city will also add mental health professionals to administer individual and group psychotherapy as well as substance abuse treatment.
“It’s really going to be about creating g a comprehensive prehensive intervention treatment approach,” said Anthony Waters, acting executive director of mental health for Correctional Health Services.
As part of the overhaul, officials have identified 250 extremely violent inmates who will be placed in the new secure housing to restrict their movements. These dangerous inmates will have religious, law library and commissary services brought to them to minimize their contact with the general population.
The Daily News reported on June 13 that nearly 20 inmates had been slashed the month before — the bloodiest stretch in more than a decade.
A frightening array of weapons has been seized over the last six months during a crackdown on jail corruption. The weapons included a scalpel tucked inside an air vent and a homemade shiv stashed behind a jail cell radiator.