18% spike even as attacks on guards drop

THE NUMBER of stabbings and slashings at city jails jumped 18% last year, officials revealed Thursday.

There were 155 slashings and stabbings, primarily at problemplagued Rikers Island, in 2016 — up from 131 the year before. That’s on top of a 9% jump in 2015.

Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte stressed in testimony to the City Council that other types of violence at Rikers have gone down.

“We have substantially driven down critical violence indicators,” he said.

Assaults on staff fell by 11%, to 841, and assaults that seriously injured the employee dropped 31%. Use of force by guards was down 3%, and use-of-force incidents that caused a serious injury dropped 35%.

But the number of fights between inmates jumped 21%, to 6,005. Serious injuries from fights or assaults fell 8%.

“There’s still too much violence,” Ponte told reporters after the hearing. “There’s still too many assaults on staff, and we need to get better in all those categories. But we’re seeing some good trends.”

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Queens), chairwoman of the Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, said she didn’t buy the argument the troubled jail complex is becoming a less violent place.

“It’s hard for me to believe what you’re saying,” she said. “Violence is out of control. It’s not getting better.”

One reason for the uptick in slashings and stabbings is that officials can’t detect all the weapons that get sneaked into jails, Ponte said. The city is barred by state law from using ionizing scanners, which he called the “most effective tool to find these types of weapons.”

Officials found 37% more weapons in 2016 than 2015, but found 20% fewer scalpel blades, a common weapon in slashings.

The Department of Correction also said Thursday that it’s expected to take six years to move 16- and 17-year-old prisoners off Rikers Island to a new facility in the Bronx.

When Mayor de Blasio announced the plan to put teen inmates at a new jail, which would require City Council and Planning Commission approval, he said it would take four years or more. Officials are currently conducting a feasibility study.

“It will be as quickly as we can,” Ponte said.

Sixteen- and 17-year olds are currently in the custody of the jail system, but that would change if a proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility passes in Albany.