The Number of City Jail Admissions is Down 50 Percent Since the Beginning of Mayor de Blasio's Administration

"Mayor de Blasio and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Director Elizabeth Glazer announced today that for the first time in decades, the number of city jail admissions fell below 40,000—a roughly 50 percent drop since the beginning of the Administration," stated the press release from the City of New York.

Incarceration has become a less effective form of reducing crime.

“The safest big city in America is ending the era of mass incarceration,” said Mayor de Blasio. “For decades, we’ve been told we can only arrest and imprison our way to a safer city. Under my Administration, New York City has proven that’s not true. Instead, we can keep fathers at home and kids in school and get even safer.”

“New York City continues to show that less incarceration does not lead to more crime and closing Rikers is a reality that we can reach,” said Council Member Donovan Richards, chair of the Committee on Public Safety. “Reducing senseless marijuana arrests, prioritizing alternatives to incarceration and reforming the bail system has allowed tens of thousands of New Yorkers a second chance at leading a more successful life while avoiding the more serious pitfalls of the criminal justice system. I’d like to thank the de Blasio administration, MOCJ Director Glazer, NYPD Commissioner O’Neill, our District Attorneys, and the advocates in the public defender and criminal justice fields who have all played such an integral role in making the progress we’ve made over the last six years.”