From July 2019 to May 2021, the Columbia Justice Lab developed and conducted a longitudinal interview study of nearly 300 people facing new criminal charges in New York City. The Rikers Island Longitudinal Study aimed to understand how defendants’ experiences in the pretrial process affected and were affected by their social and economic life conditions. After first interviewing people at court or in jail soon after their initial arraignments, the study re-interviewed them 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months later. This report highlights our key findings.
The goals of this report are to:
- Share the experiences of defendants who have varying degrees of contact with the criminal legal system in New York City.
- Provide organizations that work with court-involved people infor- mation to understand the socioeconomic conditions of people going through the criminal courts.
- Contribute to a citywide and national discussion about how to safely reduce jail populations.
