Most say cut population of Rikers – poll

NEW YORKERS overwhelmingly support a wide range of criminal justice reforms to reduce the number of inmates as part of the plan to shut down Rikers Island, according to a survey commissioned by an independent panel that recommended the closure of the jail complex.

The poll found 87% of the 800 New Yorkers surveyed support holding people in jail prior to a conviction “only if they present a high risk to the safety of the community.”

Global Strategy Group, a public relations firm doing pro bono work for the 27-member Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, conducted the poll.

The panel, led by former state Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, recommends cutting the jail population almost in half before moving inmates to smaller jails to be built in each of the five boroughs.

As for the survey, it also found 73% of those questioned back proposals to expand communitybased monitoring as an alternative to incarceration. Reuven Blau CITY COUNCIL Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she’d support a new jail — even in her own backyard.

As the city moves to shut down Rikers Island, Mark-Viverito said on Wednesday that she backs the recommendation of an independent commission to put jails in each borough.

“The courthouse in the Bronx is in my district,” said the Council speaker, who represents parts of the borough and East Harlem. “And I would support this recommendation as well, in terms of bringing a borough-based jail facility there.”

She said the proposal to put jails near courthouses would be more efficient than the current system.

Mark-Viverito split with Mayor de Blasio, who has said he doesn’t plan to put a jail on Staten Island and wants fewer jails than the commission led by former chief judge Jonathan Lippman recommends.

Borough President James Oddo has also come out against a jail in Staten Island.

“They’re suggesting five new facilities,” he said on Monday. “I don’t think that makes sense.”