HOW DOES THE TIME SPENT IN LOCAL JAILS VARY BY COUNTY FOR INMATES ULTIMATELY DESTINED FOR NEW YORK STATE PRISON?
In 2017 there were just over 12,800 newly sentenced inmates in the New York State prison system. Roughly 5,300 (42 percent) of these new inmates had been sentenced in New York City courtrooms. The others were sentenced by judges in one of the state’s other 57 counties. Many of these inmates had already spent considerable time in local jails.
The amount of time an individual must spend in state prison is reduced by the period of time spent in a local jail because they were denied bail or unable to post bail while awaiting trial and then as their case is heard in court. This interval is referred to as jail time credit. Most of this credit is usually earned prior to conviction. Localities bear the cost of incarcerating detainees. For example, the time an inmate bound for state prison has spent on Rikers Island or another city jail effectively shifts to New York City costs that would otherwise be borne by the state. IBO compared the average length of time prison-bound inmates spent in New York City jails in 2017 with the average in other parts of the state.
- Inmates from New York City spent an average of 10.7 months in jail—from arrest to trial to transfer to state prison—in 2017. The comparable figure was 6.6 months for the roughly 7,500 inmates sentenced from courtrooms elsewhere throughout the state.
- Jail time credit for inmates sentenced in New York City courtrooms varied by borough: from an average of 8.3 months on Staten Island to over a year (13.7 months) in the Bronx.
- If the average jail time credit in 2017 was the same in New York City as the average for the rest of the state, the city would have saved about $50 million in incarceration costs.
Full article can be read at ibo.nyc
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