The Rikers Island Fix
Does it really exist?
If there’s a worse place to be incarcerated — or a more poorly-run jail or prison in the United States — I, as an ex-felon who was imprisoned at both Rikers Island and the now-shuttered and infamous MCC federal prison, would be hard-put to find one.
In a utopian world, jails and prisons would be institutions into which criminals would enter — and law-abiding and rehabilitated people would leave. Clearly, that is not the case on Rikers Island. Rikers is a human warehouse where dangerous individuals, who are overseen by officers who often don’t care about anything beyond their paychecks, are kept away from their prospective victims. It is far from that utopian world. In its defense, Rikers is a jail and not a prison, and thus not designed to turn criminals into saints. But my experience on the island tells me that there is little redemptive value at the huge facility.
To start, let’s take a look at who oversees the prisoners. Corrections officers (NYC’s Boldest) need to complete 60 hours of college courses to qualify for the job unless they’ve served for 2 years in the military or as police officers. In those two cases, a high school diploma suffices. Clearly, corrections officers are not overly-educated.
Entry pay is around 50k per year. If an officer can last 5 years on the job, he’ll rise to…
