Incarcerated New Yorkers lose access to free electronic tablets, a critical lifeline

When Ruben Burgos was incarcerated at Rikers Island earlier this year, he used a city-issued electronic tablet to turn his poetry into music. Other detainees used the tablets to watch movies, read books, and participate in job training programs. Burgos said the tablets provided a critical outlet, helping to reduce fights over the phones, the shared televisions and access to food. 

“I feel like those tablets could be a safe haven for a lot of people,” Burgos said. “That pad was actually setting a system for when you wanted to watch a movie, when you wanted to take a class. It was setting a standard for reintegration.” He said the devices gave locked up individuals something that was theirs -- and some semblance of control. 

But the contract with the tablet provider, APDS, quietly ended June 30 and was not extended for reasons that the Department of Correction has not explained. The program had been in place since 2015, and was expanded to reach almost all of the approximately 5,000 detainees during Covid. Now, more than four months have gone by and incarcerated people haven’t had access to educational, entertainment, and religious material that they had for years – and both correctional experts and the incarcerated say that could contribute to increased tensions and historic highs in violence. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Correction said three weeks ago that the agency was finalizing a contract with a new tablet provider. That announcement could still come any day.

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