Plan to Shutter Rikers Island Jails Could Endanger New Yorkers: Report

New York’s quest to replace the troubled Rikers Island jail complex with smaller facilities across the five boroughs could lead to either hazardous overcrowding or the release of dangerous detainees, according to a Dec. 1 report from the conservative Manhattan Institute.
In a Nov. 30 interview with The Epoch Times, the report’s author, Manhattan Institute fellow Charles Fain Lehman, said New York has been reducing its jail population for years.
“They’ve run out of low-hanging fruit. Now they need to start releasing serious offenders if they want to keep cutting the population,” he said.
New York is already experiencing significant increases in serious offenses. As of August, major crimes were up by 36 percent year-over-year, as reported by the New York Post….}