NYC mayor wants to close Rikers Island jail over next decade
The announcement comes two days ahead of the planned unveiling of recommendations by an independent commission established by the City Council after a string of brutality cases that exposed poor supervision, questionable medical care and corruption at Rikers.
De Blasio credited the drop partly to shifts in how law enforcement handles lower level crimes, like smoking marijuana in public.
Advocates for prisoners have been arguing that smaller jails, based in the city's neighborhoods, would be better able to provide services and reduce delays getting criminal suspects to and from court.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Friday that city officials should be thinking about how to help people entangled in the criminal justice system.
A 2015 settlement of civil litigation over pervasive brutality led to the installation of a monitor responsible for overseeing the city's progress in adding thousands of surveillance cameras and stricter policies on use of force.