In 2022, New York City\u2019s jails commissioner, Louis Molina, issued a dire warning to local lawmakers: fentanyl was pouring into Rikers Island through the mail, he said, spurring an overdose crisis among the jail’s detainees and putting guards at risk.<\/p>\n
However, a report released by the city\u2019s Department of Investigation has found that the claim was based on faulty drug-testing kits with a stunning 85% false positive rate. The report found the city vastly overstated the prevalence of fentanyl sent by mail to detainees.<\/p>\n
When investigators retested 71 pieces of mail initially flagged by field tests as containing fentanyl, only 10 actually showed traces of the drug. The drawing of a reindeer highlighted by Molina was fentanyl-free.<\/p>\n
Field tests indicating an influx of fentanyl-laced mail to Rikers Island fueled a yearslong campaign by Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 administration to bar people in city custody from receiving physical mail. However, the proposal has been blocked by a jail oversight board.<\/p>\n
Jocelyn Strauber, the commissioner of the Department of Investigation, said the city should reassess its ongoing effort to bar detainees from receiving mail, given the report\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe field tests don\u2019t support a concern that a high rate of fentanyl-laced objects are coming in from the mail,\u201d she told The Associated Press. \u201cTo the extent policy determinations are based on flawed data, they ought to be reconsidered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detainee advocates have long contended that drugs primarily enter the jail system via employees, who can easily smuggle them inside and sell them to gang leaders. In recent years, dozens of correction officers have been charged in multiple investigations of smuggling rings on Rikers Island.<\/p>\n
In its report, the Department of Investigation said corrections officials had failed to implement many of the department’s previous recommendations aimed at screening staff for contraband.<\/p>\n
Such field tests have gained popularity in recent years alongside a spike in opioid overdose deaths nationwide, allowing law enforcement officials to bypass the lengthy lab process to determine if a substance contains narcotics. However, experts have long raised questions about the strips’ effectiveness.<\/p>\n
Under federal regulations, manufacturers are required to include language on their packaging indicating that results are preliminary until confirmed by a lab \u2014 something that rarely happens in correctional settings. The review by the Department of Investigation found DetectaChem\u2019s test strips had a false positive rate of 79%, while Sirchie\u2019s were wrong 91% of the time.<\/p>\n
Travis Kisner, the chief operating officer of DetectaChem, said the company was still reviewing the report, but added: \u201cWe stand behind our product.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigation has found that the concerns about fentanyl-laced mail to Rikers Island were overstated and based on faulty drug-testing kits. The report raises questions about the effectiveness of field tests and the reliance on preliminary results. As the city reassesses its policies, it is clear that a more comprehensive approach is needed to address drug use in the jail system.<\/p>\n
Q: What were the findings of the Department of Investigation report?<\/b>
\nA: The report found that the city overstated the prevalence of fentanyl sent by mail to detainees, with 85% of drug-testing kits yielding false positives.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the current policy on mail to Rikers Island detainees?<\/b>
\nA: The city has proposed redirecting mail to an offsite vendor, who would then upload it digitally for the incarcerated person to read on a tablet.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the primary concern for drug use in Rikers Island?<\/b>
\nA: Detainee advocates have long contended that drugs primarily enter the jail system via employees, who can easily smuggle them inside and sell them to gang leaders.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the role of field tests in the investigation?<\/b>
\nA: Field tests have been used to quickly assess potential threats, but experts have raised questions about their effectiveness, citing a high rate of false positives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fentanyl Concerns at Rikers Island Unfounded, Investigation Finds In 2022, New York City\u2019s jails commissioner, Louis Molina, issued a dire warning to local lawmakers: fentanyl was pouring into Rikers Island through the mail, he said, spurring an overdose crisis among the jail’s detainees and putting guards at risk. Faulty Testing Kits Led to Overstated Concerns […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/media.nbcnewyork.com\/2024\/08\/33518356806-1080pnbcstations.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5413,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions\/5413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}