In a new report, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found increasingly lengthy court case processing times are dramatically inflating New York City’s jail population, which has risen by over 57% since 2020, costing the city hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
From 2019 to 2023, the number of felony cases in Department of Corrections (DOC) custody that took more than three years for the court to process increased 179%, according to a news release.
The report found that expediting cases in line with national best practices could save New York City up to $877 million annually and reduce the required capacity of NYC jails by 1,728, bringing the city far closer to its goal of closing Rikers Island.
“No one should have to wait three years for their day in court, in the inhumane and violent conditions of Rikers Island or anywhere else,” said Lander. “The increasingly long delays of New York City’s justice system are not only violating the constitutional rights of detainees – they are also wasting hundreds of millions of dollars each year in New York City taxpayers’ money, without making our city any safer. Reducing case processing time in line with national best practices would reduce the City’ jail population – saving the City as much as $877 million each year which we could use to keep communities safer – and bring us far closer to the City’s commitment to close Rikers Island and achieve the justice system New Yorkers deserve.”
The Comptroller’s report analyzed DOC data on 111,000 individuals discharged from city custody between 2019 (the last full year of jail activity before the Covid-19 pandemic) and 2023 and found the DOC spent $507,000 per person incarcerated on an annual basis in 2023, up from $182,000 in 2013.
While the courts meet their own standard of six months to case dispensation for about 80% of felony cases in DOC custody, the remaining 20% exceed that standard by over nine months on average. Aligning processing timelines with national best practices, the city could reduce the number of beds needed in its jails by 1,728, potentially reducing the cost of detaining individuals by $876.7 million per year, the report said.
By the National Center for State Courts’ (NCSC) standards – a nationally-accepted model for state trial courts – busy court systems like New York City’s should strive to conclude 90% of felony-charged cases within 180 days. The Comptroller’s report found that only 78% of cases were resolved within that timeframe. Murder cases saw the most significant distance from the NCSC standard of 422 days, taking 812 days (27 months) on average to process in 2023 – up 37% (108 days) from over 18 months in 2019.
Cases can be delayed for a range of reasons, such as missed court dates, discovery delays and scheduling errors. By aligning processing timelines with national best practices, the city could reduce the number of beds needed in its jails by 1,728 and reduce the cost of detaining individuals by $876.7 million per year.
Expediting the processing of non-murder felonies would have the greatest impact on reducing the jail population: just a 28-day reduction in processing times (a 26% reduction) would reduce the number of beds needed by 1,215.
"The dramatic increase in case processing times over the past several years has contributed to the city’s inflated jail population, which undermines public safety and the progress required to close Rikers by the legal deadline," said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. "This report underscores the urgent need for all stakeholders in the system to prioritize advancing solutions that return case processing times towards those achieved before 2020 and alignment with national best practices. It also reinforces the need for New York City to invest in programs that work with problem-solving courts and judges to prevent the excessive pre-trial detention that now costs taxpayers over half-a-million dollars per person and well over $1 billion each year. Fixing these problems is within reach, but it requires meaningful action and collaboration by the mayor's administration, the courts, state government, and the rest of us invested in public safety to reduce these delays and unnecessarily long pre-trial jail stays."
Although the city has significantly reduced its jail population from its 1990 peak of over 21,000, the average daily jail population has steadily risen from a low of just under 4,000 in 2020 to 6,307 as of May, 2024. Reducing the average daily population by 1,728 would bring the city far closer to the 4,160 beds being built in the four borough-based jails, and therefore much closer to its commitment to close Rikers Island.
The report includes a set of recommendations to streamline case processing, help reduce an inflated jail population and create progress on the Rikers closure timeline. These recommendations include establishing a formal group charged with the explicit goal to reduce the population at Rikers Island to triage and expedite cases on an ongoing basis and propose and execute systemic reforms. Secondly, adopting enhanced goals to expedite the processing of felony cases in a manner consistent with national best practices, with a particular focus on reducing case processing times for long-staying individuals. Thirdly, investing in and implementing 21st-century scheduling software. Lastly, implementing discovery technology improvements to enhance and expedite access to NYPD records and case files for prosecutors and defenders.
