The penal institutions moved to Rikers Island, which the city purchased for $180,000, where 10 prisons and 6,000 inmates are now held.

[7] In 1995, the New York City jail system was one of the most violent in the United States, averaging more than 100 stabbings and slashings per month.

Between January 1995 and January 2002, the department achieved a 93% reduction in inmate on inmate violence as a result of a management system recognized by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, called Total Efficiency Accountability Management System (TEAMS).

[8] By 2007, the number of stabbings was reduced to 19, making that year the Department of Correction's safest on record, although the issue of underreporting of incidents has not been addressed.

Correction officers are responsible for the care, control, custody, work performance and job training of inmates.

They share the distinctive NYC Law Enforcement colour scheme of blue-and-white, with the NYCD patch, red-white-blue/yellow (rear) flashing lights and sirens.

[14] The move was prompted by a law passed by New York state in 2017 requiring that juvenile inmates under 18 be housed separately from adults.