Roughly 110 inmates who had been released from Rikers Island over fears that they might catch the coronavirus in prison have since been re-arrested, as reported by Fox News.
The recapturing of the prisoners accounts for a staggering majority of the 190 total arrests in New York City since the outbreak started. Of the 110, 45 were arrested for burglaries. The wave of repeat offenses contributed heavily to a spike in the city’s crime rate, and is reflective of the broader statewide policy of releasing thousands of prisoners due to fears of spreading the virus.
According to the Fox report, out of roughly 16,000 prisoners released across the country, about 1,500 alone are from New York City. As a result, Mayor Bill De Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats, have come under heavy fire for their numerous controversial decisions during the outbreak, which have seen prisoners released while law-abiding citizens are forced into lockdown.
New York remains the epicenter of the virus in the United States. Although the curve has flattened and new cases are now on the decline nationwide, New York state still by far has the highest number of cases, with the vast majority of them being located in New York City.