Last summer, the city agreed to an action plan to turn things around at Rikers Island. One year later, the independent monitor in a federal court case says the city has not only failed to improve conditions; in some cases, they’ve gotten worse.

“The cautious optimism that characterized prior reports and testimony can no longer be maintained,” the monitor’s latest report says.

“I think this is the first report where you see them say, ‘Enough,’” said Kayla Simpson, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, which represents the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that led to the appointment of the independent monitor as part of a 2015 consent decree.

What You Need To Know

  • In a scathing report Monday, a court-appointed monitor called on a judge to begin contempt proceedings against the city for its failure to address conditions on Rikers Island

  • The report comes a year after the city agreed to an action plan to turn things around at the troubled jail complex

  • The report describes a pattern of excessive force by officers, a lack of transparency and accountability, and, in some cases, an unwillingness by the department of correction to acknowledge problems

  • The mayor’s office said Monday it remains committed to continued reform, but would defend against any contempt motion

The 288-page report released Monday recommends the court initiate contempt proceedings that would coerce the city to take action.

It paints a damning picture, detailing a pattern of excessive force by officers; a lack of transparency and accountability; and, in some cases, an unwillingness by the department of correction to acknowledge problems.

And it portrays Rikers as an extremely dangerous place: “The current state of affairs and rates of use of force, stabbings and slashings, fights, assaults on staff, and in-custody deaths remain extraordinarily high — they are not typical, they are not expected, they are not normal.”

Simpson said: “This consent judgment was entered to address a Constitutional violation of excessive and unnecessary force against people in the jails, and eight years and six court orders later, brutality is alive and well.”

In response to the report, the mayor’s office said Monday it remains committed to continued reform and working with the monitor, but added in a statement: “We are prepared to fully defend against any contempt motion and the record will reflect the important and necessary steps New York City has taken to make continued progress.”

The report noted some areas of progress, like reducing absenteeism among officers. But ultimately, it says the court must go even beyond contempt proceedings. One option is for the judge to put the jails under federal receivership, which would take them out of the city’s control.

“The monitor has said plainly in this report that additional relief beyond the contempt proceedings themselves is necessary, and has said it’s up to the parties and the court to determine what that is,” Simpson said. “And in our view, it’s clearer today than it’s ever been that - that’s an independent authority over the jails.”