Welcome back to 10 blocks. This week's special episode features audio from a Manhattan

Institute event featuring Charles

Lehman, a fellow at MI, and a contributing editor of City Journal, and Lewis A. Molina, the commissioner

of the Department of Corrections. We hope you enjoy.

On a slightly less cheery note, I want to talk a minute about New York City's jails, which most observers

agree are in the middle of, have been struggling for a long time with a level of crisis. 19 people

died in Riker's custody last year, which is the deadliest year in roughly a decade. Thousands are

now diverted from pretrial detention every day.

As proponents argue, the jails are dangerous and criminogenic, and opponents of these policies

say the streets become less safe.

The jail system has been subject to a federal monitoring agreement for over a decade,

with looming debate over whether or not a federal

takeover is necessary. The city, meanwhile, is cruising ahead with plans to close the Rikers

complex and dramatically slash total jail capacity below where it has ever been at any point

since the Rikers Complex opened. Into this maelstrom was thrust our guest, Commissioner Correction, Louis

A. Melina, who was appointed to his post by Merrick Adams with the latter took office in 2022.

Previously, Commissioner Malina was chief of the city of Las Vegas' Department of Public Safety,

first deputy commissioner for the Westchester Vegas Department of Public Safety, first deputy commissioner

for the Westchester County Department of Correction and Chief Internal Monitor and Acting

Assistant Commissioner of the Nunez Compliance Unit of NYC DOC. So with a diverse law enforcement

background and experience both in making the system work and making the system work better,

it's a little surprise that the new mayor went to the commissioner to try to solve what has been for many an unsolvable problem.

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