Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams and law enforcement said Wednesday that repeat offenders are fueling the city’s historic rise in crime.
Adams wants to change the law in NYC so judges have discretion to consider the level of danger a defendant poses to public safety when setting bail, according to CNN. At present, judges across the other U.S. states may consider the potential risk a defendant poses to the greater public when setting their bail, the outlet noted.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell agreed with Adams, furthering that judges should be able to remand defendants at arraignments “based on the severity of their alleged crimes or their history of recidivism,” the outlet continued.
Today we made three major announcements for the upstream justice we deserve.
FIRST: Every person under 21 years old on probation will be connected with a credible messenger mentor to help guide them on the right path. Data shows this initiative is key to combating recidivism. pic.twitter.com/34UjCe9kcE
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 28, 2022
The call for change comes as data showed that the number of people arrested three or more times for repeat offending in cases of robbery, burglary and grand larceny increased significantly since the start of 2022, CNN noted.
“As a result of this insane broken system, our recidivism rates have skyrocketed and those who say the predicted wave of recidivism wouldn’t happen, and the studies that claim to show the rate of arrest for violent felonies has not changed since the reforms were passed,” Adams said during a press conference on Wednesday, according to CNN. “I have one word for you — wrong. You are wrong.”
At least 211 defendants were arrested three or more times for burglary through June of 2022, a 142.5% increase compared to 87 people total between January and June of 2017, CNN continued. NYC is also one of six major U.S. cities reporting historic increases in violent crime since June 2021. The city experienced nearly a 26% increase in violent crime by June 2022 when compared to the same time in 2021.
Teens Charged With Hate Crime Over Alleged Attack On NYC Bushttps://t.co/XYbYmAd9yH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 27, 2022
Despite the overwhelming data supporting Adams’ and the NYPD’s stance, the Legal Aid Society accused his administration of picking out “a handful of cases to misguide New Yorkers and convince them that bail reform is responsible for all of society’s ills,” CNN continued. Those cases include one man who was arrested 101 times, 88 of which arrests occurred since 2020, the outlet noted. (RELATED: MMA Fighter Pins Alleged Serial Puncher In Epic Street Brawl)
New York State passed bail reform in 2019 making release from jail before trial a given for most offenders accused of misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, the Vera Institute of Justice reported. Within three months of it going into effect, the law was amended to give judges more discretion with cash bail and pretrial release, the Brennan Center noted.