The city Correction Department has seen a mysterious jump over the past 18 months in the numbers of officers taking time off under laws that allow leave for pregnancies and caring for sick relatives — sparking concerns that officers are using the leaves as their own literal get-out-of-jail-free card, according to data and correction sources.
Until August 2023, the number of officers out each day on so-called FMLA leave was fairly steady at around 45 a day on average, according to department figures cited in a November report by the federal monitor tracking violence and uses of force in the jails.
The total jumped to an average of 86 officers a day in August 2023 and then to about 110 a day on average one month later, the figures show. The daily average has remained consistently above 110 since then, the figures show. In 2024, the average was 113 officers a day — or 151% higher than in the summer of 2023…