Correction Commissioner Pushes Against Critics

The New York City Department of Correction, led by Commissioner Martin Horn, is implementing some of the most profound changes to the city’s jails in three decades.To the chagrin of a number of Mr. Horn’s critics, he is pushing ahead with plans to reopen and expand a jail facility in the center of Brooklyn’s court district, and inmates in city jails will soon be subject to stricter rules following his decision to support changes to the Minimum Standards for New York City Correctional Facilities, the first such amendments since the standards were created in 1978.Despite considerable opposition from local interests, Mr. Horn said he is committed to reopening and expanding the Brooklyn House of Detention and building a new jail in the Bronx, moves that would drastically reduce the inmate population on Rikers Island and distinctly alter the department he runs.“The city made a mistake years ago. Jails belong near courthouses,” Mr. Horn said during an interview at his office on Rikers Island. “We should keep these men and women close to the courts, their lawyers, families, and the re-entry programs.” By having jails closer to courthouses, Mr. Horn added, the correction department would drastically reduce the number of inmates that each day must be transported between Rikers Island and city courts, saving the city a large amount of money.Opponents of the plan have argued that reopening the facility in Brooklyn, which was closed in 2003 as part of a cost trimming effort by Mayor Bloomberg, would threaten development in and around downtown Brooklyn, where property values have skyrocketed in the last several years. Some have said the real estate taken up by the 10-story gray monolith situated near the mouth of the Brooklyn Bridge would be better utilized as apartments.“I have never met someone who doesn’t want to live in TriBeCa because of the tombs,” Mr. Horn said, relating the Brooklyn facility to the Manhattan Detention Complex on Centre Street. “It’s been there since 1937 and no one there complains about getting terrorized by escaped inmates.”Mr. Horn said the most important aspect of his job is to keep the city’s jails safe, and statistics indicate that he is doing well. In 2007, the number of inmate stabbings in city jails dropped to an all-time low of 19. Mr. Horn’s legacy at the department, though, will likely depend on the outcome of his plan to reduce the city’s reliance on Rikers Island.In a move espoused by Mr. Horn and staunchly opposed by some civil rights advocates, the oversight board of the correction department voted in December to change the minimum standards for jails. The new standards will require inmates to wear uniforms and allow the department to record inmate phone calls, standard protocol at state and federal prisons.Mr. Horn said he pushed for the changes because clothing associated with gangs can often spark violence in dormitories, and drug deliveries to the jails are often orchestrated over the phone.“The goal here is to make our jails better and in turn cut down on recidivism, “Mr. Horn, who began his career as a parole officer in Brooklyn in 1969, said. “We are trying to work smart.”With the support of the city and a number of donors in the private sector, Mr. Horn has urged the city to put considerably more resources into re-entry programs that provide inmates with vocational training while behind bars, and then assistance with finding jobs after their release.“They are designed to work almost like an insurance policy,” Mr. Horn said. “We invest so much money into inmates that for just a few dollars more we can keep them out for good.”To encourage inmates to participate, a number of incentive policies have been implemented, such as reserving privileged work assignments for those enrolled in the programs and offering an hourly wage for attending classes toward high school diplomas.In another move that Mr. Horn says would lower the department’s costs, he is pushing for the proliferation of videoconferencing. Setting up video meetings between inmates and their probation officers and lawyers has already allowed the department to cut back on the costs of busing inmates around the city. Even some court proceedings are held using the technology.However, many lawyers have yet to embrace the technology, Mr. Horn said. “For video teleconferencing to truly succeed, it will be about changing the culture of the way things have been done for a long time,” he said.Mr. Horn, who has dedicated a long career to the criminal justice system, became animated while describing a new program that offers inmates working in kitchens on Rikers Island a class toward earning a food-handlers certificate from the department of health.“I don’t care if its Subway, McDonalds, or Nobu, a certificate is going to increase someone’s marketability,” he said.

Correction Commissioner Pushes Against Critics

More from the New York Sun

‘Wht Happened Was…’ Supplies a Witty and Mysterious Mediation on Life and Love

Democrats Join Spanish Prime Minister, Progressives at Barcelona for Takedown of Trump

Republicans Set To Kick Off Fraught Budget Process for ICE, Border Patrol

Embattled Starmer, With Ship Attacked in Hormuz Strait, Pretends That Britain Yet Rules the Waves

Hostility to Trump Bars Global Recognition of Israeli-American Military Defeat of Iran

Trump Says ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ if Iran Doesn’t Accept a Deal To End Conflict

White House Vows Answers After 11 Deaths and Disappearances Linked to Space and Nuclear Research

How the Phenomenal Success of ‘Project Hail Mary’ Can Inspire a Cinematic Revival