TESTIMONY
Sebastian Solomon on the Need for Reallocating NYC's Incarceration Budget to Community-Based Safety Solutions
4:57:40
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3 min
Sebastian Solomon emphasizes the importance of reallocating New York City's incarceration budget towards community-based safety solutions instead of overspending on jails and policing.
- Solomon criticizes New York City's annual $14 billion expenditure on jails and policing, highlighting the inefficiency in enhancing public safety.
- He outlines the mayor's FY 2025 preliminary budget's continued overspending on incarceration and underinvestment in community safety.
- Solomon presents alarming data on the Department of Correction's overstaffing and overspending, compared to the substantial budget cuts to critical social service departments.
- He recommends transitioning Department of Correction staff to sectors offering economic opportunities and job security without the burdens of Rikers Island work.
- The testimony advocates for significant fiscal reforms, urging the city council to prioritize investment in preventive and community-based safety initiatives.
Sebastian Solomon
4:57:40
Good afternoon to your nurse.
4:57:41
My name is Sebastian Solomon, and I am the associate director for Policy of the Greater Justice New York Program at the Verint Institute of Justice.
4:57:48
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
4:57:50
We spend more than $14,000,000,000 on jails and police in New York City every year, yet many New Yorkers still do not feel safe.
4:57:57
Continuing to overstaff and overfund our jails will not make us safer.
4:58:01
Yet once again, the mayor's preliminary budget for fiscal year 2025 shows continued overspending on incarceration instead of adequate investment in community based safety solutions.
4:58:10
It is past time to listen to the evidence and take a different approach.
4:58:14
We urge the city council to pass a budget that invests in community based supports to prevent crime before it happens instead of just reacting to it afterwards.
4:58:21
The FY 2025 preliminary budget maintains its astronomical funding for the Department of Correction.
4:58:26
Despite the city's commitment to decarcerate, close, and replace Rikers Island, with a smaller borrow based jail system.
4:58:34
DOC's budget is set to decrease by just 3.3% compared to estimated FY 2024 spending remaining above $2,600,000,000.
4:58:42
Meanwhile, despite growing concerns about New York City's inability to care for people experiencing mental illness, substance use disorder, and homelessness.
4:58:49
Funding for the department serving these populations is set to shrink significantly more in FY 2025.
4:58:55
Preliminary budget decreases funding for the Department of Youth And Community Development by 25.4%, the Department of Health And Mental Hygiene By 20.4%, and the Department of Social Services.
4:59:04
By 14.9% compared to their estimated FY 2024 expenditures.
4:59:09
According to the New York City Commptroller's office, in 2023, DOC deployed 400 approximately 400 more corrections officers than people in detention.
4:59:17
In contrast, in 2022, the typical American jail had a uniformed workforce roughly one quarter this of its shale population.
4:59:24
The overstaffing on Rykers inevitably results in overspending.
4:59:27
Personnel costs represent 88% of the department's bloated $2,600,000,000 budget.
4:59:33
Although the decarceration and construction plans are behind schedule, New York City has a legal obligation to close Rikers Island by 2027.
4:59:40
To do so, New York City must revamp POC with staffing proportionate to the smaller capacity of the border base jail system and begin reducing budgeted officer positions now.
4:59:50
Current government projections indicate that DOC intends to budget for 760 uniformed officers through the end of FY 2028 suggesting plans to offset attrition with significant hiring despite the decreasing need for officers.
5:00:02
Eliminating these uniform vacancies to bring budgeted headcount in line with headcount would save with actual account would save a total of $162,000,000 next fiscal year alone.
5:00:12
In addition to eliminating vacancies, DOC must reign in overtime spending is a 157.9 oh, just skip through, but which is obviously way over budget from what it was supposed to be, and will be much greater than it will be next than as expected next year.
5:00:24
So Instead of continuing to fund DOC's manage mismanagement, we've enlisted some alternative investments that we think the city council should focus on and longer term, UFC must also rightsize its uniformed workforce to match the smaller footprint of the borrowing base jails.
5:00:39
Natural is neither fast nor targeted enough to do so, and mass layoffs are not a viable option.
5:00:44
The city must enable DOC staff to begin transitioning to agencies and sectors to provide the same economic opportunity and job security without the trauma of working on Rikers Island.
5:00:53
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony.
5:00:55
Please do not hesitate to contact me if the bureau Institute of Justice may provide their support.