Two units of Rikers Island Prison were left unsupervised for more than 24 hours this week following a critical personnel shortage.
According to Brooklyn rapper 2 Milly, the 80 inmates of the two units were forced to run the show.
The rapper, who is in prison for firearm possession, told the New York Daily News that he’s “been answering the phones,” and inmates have helped one another set up transportation to court and for video conferences.
From 6 a.m. Tuesday to around noon Wednesday, 3 West and 2 North in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center had no correctional officers.
“We are really running the dorm by ourselves. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said 2 Milly, who is formally known as Terrance Ferguson added.
Department of Corrections officials declined to comment on the matter to the outlet but did say there was a personnel shortage. The shortage of staff isn’t new for the prison. It has been an ongoing issue. Nearly 3,500 of the 8,500 officers have called out or claimed medical exemption since July. Another 2,300 didn’t show at some point, officials stated.
“These gaps are a regular occurrence, and it’s a prime reason why officers are being attacked, and inmates aren’t getting the services they need,” a Correction Department source said of the 24-hour gap.
Now that the inmate population has doubled since mid-2019, there is even more strain on corrections that has led to “unreasonably high” levels of violence and an alarming spike in inmate suicides, The Daily Beast reported.
On Wednesday, the city’s Board of Correction released a statement claiming that Rikers went without any suicides at all in 2018, 2019, and 2020 up to December. Five prisoners have taken their own lives since December.
The board wants the city to move fast to improve conditions. However, the board didn’t offer proposals to address the issues.
The board also called for a reduction in the jail population. “As long as the population steadily rises and the staffing crisis continues, persons in custody and those who protect and work with them are in an impossible position,” the board said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Ferguson said, no additional staff arrived in the units referenced. “We’re still here right now, still answering the phone, still sending guys to court, sending to video court,” he said.
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