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4. Running the jail is incredibly expensive. The cost to jail one person for a year in NYC is >$550k[0], ~4x what it was in 2011.

[0] https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/comptroller-stringer-co...

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> DOC has employed more guards than the average daily population, with the department employing 1.7 guards per incarcerated person in FY 2021.

That stood out to me.

probably not that bad considering shifts, holidays, etc

I can’t see how the number, even after factoring all those, would be any more than 1 guard per 3 prisoners.

Which is still an incredibly high staffing ratio.

I work in the industry. It's an insanely high staffing count. Even at the most secure facilities (e.g. Pelican Bay in California).

We are seeing the triumph of the unions here.

Corrections staff at Riker's island get unlimited, unauthenticated sick leave, which may partly explain the large number here, along with their employment as clerks, bakers, door control, etc.

Incidentally this is what I meant above, about the union being out of touch: unlimited sick leave makes staffing unpredictable, which makes work unpredictable and frankly dangerous, which makes guards take more sick leave in a vicious cycle. The union has weaker-than-expected motivations to fix this, because everyone with seniority does not actually work in the housing blocks.

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