Q&A
Discussion of current visitation policies and statistics
2:18:47
·
148 sec
Allie Robertson, Executive Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the NYC Department of Correction, provides information on current visitation policies and statistics in response to Council Member Rivera's questions.
- The DOC is planning to implement an online scheduling system to reduce wait times
- Current average processing time for visits is about 4.5 hours from arrival to departure
- Approximately 20,000-25,000 visitors come to the island each quarter
- Around 5% of visits are denied or cannot happen for various reasons
- The DOC does not currently have specific figures for child visitors but can follow up with more information
Allie Robertson
2:18:47
afternoon.
2:18:49
Good afternoon.
2:18:51
Counsel member.
2:18:51
Yeah.
2:18:51
My name is Ali Robertson.
2:18:53
I'm the executive director of Intergovernmental Affairs.
2:18:55
Do you just remind Do you mind repeating your questions on visits?
2:18:58
Sure.
2:18:58
Sure.
2:18:58
Sure.
Carlina Rivera
2:18:59
Sure.
2:18:59
Thank you.
2:19:01
My question is, what are current wait times for visitors to the island between the time of registration and finally getting to see their loved one?
2:19:08
And the policies in place to expedite the processing of children visitors.
2:19:14
What percent of visitors to the island ultimately do not get to see their loved ones?
2:19:19
And are you working on improving the time it takes for a visit to take place.
Allie Robertson
2:19:25
Sure.
2:19:25
Well, thank you for all those very important questions about visits.
2:19:29
I'll speak to as many as I can, and then we might I might bring up a colleague as well.
2:19:34
So specific to wait times, we are actually looking forward to implementing an online scheduling system.
2:19:43
We were actually considering that prior to the introduction of the bill, so we're happy to with the council towards that, recognizing that it will hopefully reduce wait times.
2:19:53
We actually had an internal one of our operations research team.
2:19:58
Members didn't did a deep dive into wait times around visits, and the figure I have on me now, and I'm happy to get back to you with a more specific figure.
2:20:06
But he found an average of 4 a half hours for the entire process from arrival to then right?
2:20:13
There was a taking place and then to departure from the island.
2:20:16
So know you asked specifically, like, to the time of the visit, but that is our average for the overall at this point.
2:20:24
I don't have a more specific figure for children.
2:20:27
We can certainly try and drill down on that for you and get back to you.
2:20:33
Specific to visit denials.
2:20:36
So we're actually proud of the fact that each we kinda run this.
2:20:41
We do quarterly reporting for the council already on visits, and we track total visitors to the island.
2:20:48
And around 20 between 2020,021,025,000 visitors come to the island each quarter.
2:20:56
So clearly, large numbers of visitors that we work very hard to process.
2:21:00
And usually what we find is around 5% of that figure is the visit cannot happen or the visit is denied for a number of reasons.
Rachel Golden
2:21:10
Mhmm.
Allie Robertson
2:21:12
That figure is pretty consistent.
2:21:14
Quarter after quarter.
