His office has the worst conviction record of any borough, but Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson wants more money to help inmates.
Despite his dismal conviction record — only 43 percent of those arrested for violent felonies are convicted, compared with 54 percent across the rest of the city — Johnson is asking the City Council for nearly $800,000 in extra funding next year to probe Rikers Island.
Specifically, he wants the money to investigate “cases involving staff misconduct, including the coverup of excessive use of force by corrections officers, sexual assault, suspicious inmate deaths and contraband,” as well as “inmate-on-inmate crime.”
In all, Johnson is asking the council for almost $1.6 million for “new need requests” — more than any other DA in the city.
Johnson said Rikers Island, located within The Bronx’s borders, is “a unique drain” on his resources.
“The office lacks the resources to fully review and exploit the intelligence that could be gleaned from Rikers cases,” the DA’s Office claimed in its report to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.
Johnson defended his record in the report, noting that The Bronx accounts for up to 30 percent of crime in the city but receives less than 19 percent of all money the city allocates to DAs.