You can support your loved ones at Rikers Island - Bain on InmateAid, if you have any immediate questions contact the facility directly at 718-579-8341.
The Rikers Island - Bain serves as a low/medium-security city detention center located at 1 Halleck St in Bronx, NY. Operated locally by the police and sheriff's departments, it houses inmates and detainees awaiting trial or sentencing. Most sentenced inmates have terms of less than two years. The facility also accepts inmates from surrounding towns and occasionally from the US Marshal's Service.
New detainees are regularly admitted to the jail, with some being released on bail or placed under pretrial services caseloads. Others may be supervised by probation agencies or released on recognizance with a court appearance agreement. Those who remain in custody await their court appearances at the facility, receiving accommodations such as bedding and meals.
For access to arrest records in New York, you can view them here.
VCBC is also known as the Vernon C. Bain Maritime Facility and is a 5-story, 800-bed jail barge used to hold inmates for the New York City Department of Corrections. The barge is anchored off the Bronx's southern shore, near Hunts Point. It was built for $161 million at Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana, along the Mississippi River near New Orleans, and brought to New York in 1992 to reduce overcrowding in the island's land-bound buildings for a lower price. Nicknamed "The Boat" by prison staff and inmates, it is designed to handle inmates from medium- to maximum-security in 16 dormitories and 100 cells.
Currently, the only barge in use, the Vernon C. Bain Center is the third prison barge that the NYC DOC has used. In its history, the prison has served traditional inmates, juvenile inmates and is currently used as a holding and temporary processing center. The added security of the prison being on the water has prevented at least four attempted escapes. The barge is named in memorial for warden Vernon C. Bain who died in an automobile accident.
Inmate Calls - As of May 2, 2019, all inmate calls are free. Inmates are now entitled to 21 minutes of free phone privileges every three hours. Individual calls can last up to 15 minutes each, and even dangerous prisoners locked up in solitary confinement get a single, daily call of up to 15 minutes.
Inmate Handbook - This handbook has information about many of the programs and services available to you, including educational services, family events, the grievance process, law libraries, medical and mental health services, reentry services, and religious services. You can learn more about all of the programs and services available to you in the programs office. To go to the programs office, ask your housing area officer for an interview slip, fill out the slip, and return it to the officer. Additionally, the handbook provides answers to frequently asked questions, including how family and friends can deposit money into your account, how often you can use the phone, what property you may have, how many visits you may have, what to do if you have a disability, how to access services, and how to address various concerns.
Inmate Rulebook
The inmate rulebook contains the rules that you must follow and describes the process if you violate these rules. The rules fall into several general categories:
- Do not start fires
- Do not attempt to escape
- Do not fight or assault anyone
- Do not possess contraband, including weapons, drugs, tobacco, electronics, and other non-permissible items,
- Do not lead or participate in riots, demonstrations, barricades, or hostage situations
- Do not gamble
- Do not bribe or extort anyone
- Do not tamper with security devices
- Do not tamper with documents
- Do not damage city property
- Do not disrupt programs or otherwise conduct yourself in a disorderly manner
- Provide identification when asked
- Do not give false statements
• Follow all instructions from staff If you violate any of these rules, you will be served with a notice of infraction and will receive a due process hearing. At the hearing, you may present a defense before an adjudication captain. The adjudication captain will find you guilty or not and, if you are found guilty, will determine what the sanction will be. Sanctions include surcharges, reprimands, and sentences to punitive segregation time.
