NYC Performance Tracker

All topics / Public Safety and Access to Justice / Department of Correction

Serious injury to individuals in custody as a result of violent individuals in custody-on-individuals in custody incidents (monthly rate per 1,000 ADP)

Provide a safe and secure environment for individuals in custody, staff and host communities.Ensure the security and safety of individuals in DOC custody.

DOC's own reporting says the FY22-to-FY24 decline in serious injuries to incarcerated people from violence was the result of a multi-pronged effort to better manage the jails, including more searches for contraband weapons. The subsequent FY25 increase coincided with a nearly 10 percent jump in the average daily jail population, a rise in the share of people held on serious violent charges following bail reform, continued uniformed staff attrition, and a state prison workers' wildcat strike that temporarily halted transfers of sentenced individuals out of city custody, all of which DOC cited as contributing factors.

Researched July 16, 2026 DOC, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DOC, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report

Lower values are better
101520FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26*18.915.412.113.5

* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.

View as table
Fiscal yearActual
FY2218.9
FY2315.4
FY2412.1
FY2513.5
FY26 (YTD)Not available

Why this is tracked

The 2015 Nunez consent decree grew out of a lawsuit brought by a teenager who alleged he was beaten by a DOC captain on Rikers Island; it mandated reforms including de-escalation policies and restrictions on tactics like head strikes. A court-appointed monitor has since filed dozens of reports finding the City out of compliance with the order, and in 2025 a federal judge appointed an outside Remediation Manager to take over reform efforts after the City was held in contempt of multiple provisions. That history is why "safe and secure" custody in NYC's jail system is not just a routine institutional goal but a specific, court-monitored legal obligation.

DOJ - Agreement to Address NYC's Non-Compliance With Rikers Consent Judgment, Legal Aid Society - Nunez v. City of New York

Source: Security database — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators

Coverage shown: FY22FY26, reported monthly.

Definition: The monthly rate, per 1,000 individuals in custody, of incidents of reported violence by an individual(s) in custody against another individual(s) in custody, (such as physical fights/assaults, slashings, and stabbings), that result in an injury to an individual in custody requiring medical treatment beyond the prescription of over-the-counter analgesics.