Eric Adams has been running the reins of New York City for just four weeks, and although until now he seemed to be living a ‘honeymoon’ with Albany, last week the first big difference with the State was presented.
After presenting his master plan to stop the rampant armed violence in the five boroughs, the local president urged the State Legislature, with a progressive majority, to review and go back on the scope of the bail laws and the increase in the criminal age, legislation that he blames for influencing the increase in crime in the Big Apple, but Albany has made it clear that his plea has no echo there.
Adams’ clamor intends to amend the Bail Reform Act, which went into effect in January of last year, which prevents judges from posting bail on nearly all misdemeanors and non-violent felonies as a requirement for a detainee’s release pending a determination. his guilt or innocence.
“New York is the only state in the country that does not allow a judge to detain to an accused who represents a threat to the community. The judges must be able to evaluate the criminal record of the accused and the circumstances of the alleged crime to arrest people who represent a threat to the safety of the community”, is the thought of Adams, while asking that minors be held criminally responsible. 10 years for offenses related to weapons, not because he seeks to punish young people, but because there are consequences for those who are taking advantage of the law.
In this regard, the Mayor assures that this law (‘Rise de Age’) “is being used as a loophole for gang members to demand that young people under 16 years to take the blame for weapons that are not theirs”, and insists that the State repairs its presumed effects.
But since the Legislature it has not taken long for voices to be raised en bloc against Adams’s call, which almost left his petition dead at the beginning of The road.
Political leaders, who defend both laws as acts of justice and a brake on the criminalization of poverty, who for years determined whether a detainee, depending on the money he had, could be released or in prison awaiting trial, share the president’s concern about the urgency of stopping crime, but say not through the regression of justice.
What do the figures say?
And it is that despite the fact that different sectors, as reflected Mayor Adams, have tried to blame the increase in crime as an effect of the Bail Reform Act, which went into effect in January of last year, state figures indicate otherwise.
According to statistics of the 2020, of almost 100,10 detainees who were provisionally released last year, without payment or bail, only 4% were re-arrested for violent crimes committed after leaving prison.
For the Mayor, as well as many concerned New Yorkers, 3,460 persons released after having committed serious criminal acts or violent crimes, 773 of them detained with a firearm, is a very high figure that would demonstrate the dangerous impact on security. Despite this, the percentage of subsequent criminality among those released without bail before and after the law came into force has remained almost intact, going from 95.44% of released in 2019 without committing new crimes to 96.14% without crimes in the 2020.
State Senator Julia Salazar, one of the main promoters of justice reform laws in Albany, dismissed the Mayor’s call and explained that pretending to associate the increase in crime with the implementation of initiatives that “have served to do justice to poor, black and Latino communities, which have been criminalized for years,” is not the solution to the wave of violence that is shaking New York .
“The Mayor’s suggestion that crime and n the city is a result of the criminal age increase laws and the bail law, it is impulsive and not based on any evidence or data. I think it is a reactionary attitude
, especially when we know that there is data that reveals that bail does nothing to prevent crime, ”said the legislator of Latin origin.
“These two laws have tried to make the penal system in New York a little more equitable, because for many years, something like money bail, which sought to ensure that a detainee would return to court and not prevent him from being released, criminalized thousands of poor people who couldn’t pay, creating a system that treats people with money completely differently and we’re not going to let us go back to that,” added Salazar, who is the chair of the state Senate Committee on Crime and Jails.
“These laws will not end”
The political leader assured that in conversations with her colleagues and listening to many legislators, there is a consensus that the two laws have had a post in the lives of thousands of New Yorkers and said that he does not believe that any plan will be brought to the table to reverse them.
“There is no appetite here to end laws that so much time has been spent on and analysis of years, and although we obviously take security issues very seriously, we believe that other policies must be moved to deal with crime, and that the Mayor must focus on that”, commented the senator from Brooklyn.
“No I know that you are motivating the Mayor to say these things, but I feel that it is the result of the pressure that he receives from reactionary forces and police units that are interested in seeing more police work and incarceration, but I hope that he will consult more with his teams. and recognize that the fight against crime is not done with the intention of ending these laws,” Salazar emphasized.
Meanwhile, fellow state senator Jessica Ramos, other prominent figures in the Legislature and A fighter for justice reform, she expressed her concern that the City intends to re-associate laws that have favored communities with crime, and mentioned that there are other ways to confront crime from the root.
“There are things to be optimistic about in the Mayor’s plan: an investment in summer youth employment, a greater emphasis on mental health interventions that address the causes of l crime and damage from the root. That said, reintroducing the dangerousness standard, trying to undo the criminal age increase law, and blaming bail reform, are poorly disguised whistles that enable racist police and court practices,” said the Queens legislator.
“The data on bail reform are strong, and we need to legislate from a place of facts, not fear,” Ramos said, adding, “I remain committed to passing the ‘Treatment Not Jail Act,’ so we can expand proven programs of redirection, and enact true public safety.”
Leaders of the Legislature and Governor oppose
The leader of the majority in the Senate, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, spoke out against the association that the Mayor intends to make between crime and bail reform, clearly showing that there is no echo for Adams in that way.
“It is unfortunate that people have discovered that this is a very easy way to demonize one side and not do much work,” the senator commented, noting that giving judges discretion to apply bail would trigger disproportionate acts against blacks, Latinos, and poor people.
The President of the Assembly, Carl Heastie, also showed his opposition to the Mayor’s request and although he admitted that the issue will surely be rolling, he assured that the crime has nothing to do with the bail law.
“We are going to have a lot of discussion about this… but I think there are certain things that people could do in terms of stopping disinformation,” Heastie said. “Can we stop blaming bail reform when the sun comes up? Can we stop trying to make political fodder.
On the law to raise the criminal age, the politician added: “A lot of the concerns around ‘Raise the Age’ could really be addressed in terms of the Probation Department and pre-trial services because they can decide what pre-trial services people have before they have to go to court.”
Governor Kathy Hochul joined the opposition, without going into detail , and while he has been on the same page with Adams on many issues since he was elected Mayor, the call for a review of the bail law passed in 2019, is a thorn, so he anticipated that he will be on the side of the legislators.
“I will absolutely support the fundamental promise of why we needed bail reform in the first place”, said Hochul.
And although he has no power in the decisions of the State, from the Municipal Council, the president of that legislative body, Adrianne Adams, was against the Mayor’s call and agreed with the voices of Albany.
“The data and evidence do not support that the law of the state’s bail is responsible for the increase in violence with weapons, so changing it cannot be our solution, “said the municipal leader. “We need to focus on a comprehensive set of solutions that are effective in preventing crime and violence before they occur. This must include increased support for violence prevention programs, mental health care and crisis intervention, and youth programs that have been shown to help youth avoid violence altogether.”
Data on the impact of the Bail Reform Law:
- 2020 the bail reform law came into force in NY.
- 93,145 were the cases last year in which adults were released for the benefit of no bail, who before the reform would have been charged a payment to leave or had their detention ordered.
- 4% of those released without bail were re-arrested for alleged violent crimes.
- 3,460 persons released without bail were re-arrested for alleged violent crimes.
- 975 of them were arrested with a firearm, after first being charged with crimes that do not require bail.
- 96,45% of people on provisional release with bail did not have a new arrest according to figures of January of 2019.
- 96,14% of persons released on parole without bail in January 2021 did not present new arrests
- 1% or less of l as 45,-50,10 people awaiting trial were arrested for serious or violent crimes.
- 580 shootings were recorded as of 30 June 2020, and only one person released due to bail reform was charged with shooting.
- 2021 reduced the number of defendants who re-entered the judicial system for committing other crimes, compared to 2020.
- 98,580 felonies such as murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, grand theft, and auto theft occurred at 2021.
93,336 was the number of these crimes in 2020 in New York City.
17% New York prison incarceration rate decreased
2020
The ‘Rise de Age’ Law in figures:
- 10 years is now the minimum age of criminal responsibility, instead of 16 Y 17, as was the case before.
- 2018 was the year of approval of the law by the State Legislature.
2019, in October, the law to increase the criminal age entered into force.
- 5,435 felony arrests of minors 18 years there was October 2019 to March 2020 in the state.
- 2,231 were under years.
- 3,099 were teenagers from 000 years.
- 1 of those arrests occurred in New York City.
- 10% of total arrests for firearms are minors.
- 402 minors were arrested in the last year for crimes involving weapons.
- 099 of those minors, that is to say the 18.8%, had a prior felony arrest.
- 3,975 was the total number of people arrested for offenses involving firearms.
- 172 shootings last year in New York involved minors, the most since 2015.
- 126 were victims.
- 16 minors with prior arrests were shot last year.
- 5 of them were killed.
The leader of the majority in the Senate, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, spoke out against the association that the Mayor intends to make between crime and bail reform, clearly showing that there is no echo for Adams in that way.
“It is unfortunate that people have discovered that this is a very easy way to demonize one side and not do much work,” the senator commented, noting that giving judges discretion to apply bail would trigger disproportionate acts against blacks, Latinos, and poor people.
The President of the Assembly, Carl Heastie, also showed his opposition to the Mayor’s request and although he admitted that the issue will surely be rolling, he assured that the crime has nothing to do with the bail law.
“We are going to have a lot of discussion about this… but I think there are certain things that people could do in terms of stopping disinformation,” Heastie said. “Can we stop blaming bail reform when the sun comes up? Can we stop trying to make political fodder.
On the law to raise the criminal age, the politician added: “A lot of the concerns around ‘Raise the Age’ could really be addressed in terms of the Probation Department and pre-trial services because they can decide what pre-trial services people have before they have to go to court.”
Governor Kathy Hochul joined the opposition, without going into detail , and while he has been on the same page with Adams on many issues since he was elected Mayor, the call for a review of the bail law passed in 2019, is a thorn, so he anticipated that he will be on the side of the legislators.
“I will absolutely support the fundamental promise of why we needed bail reform in the first place”, said Hochul.
And although he has no power in the decisions of the State, from the Municipal Council, the president of that legislative body, Adrianne Adams, was against the Mayor’s call and agreed with the voices of Albany.
“The data and evidence do not support that the law of the state’s bail is responsible for the increase in violence with weapons, so changing it cannot be our solution, “said the municipal leader. “We need to focus on a comprehensive set of solutions that are effective in preventing crime and violence before they occur. This must include increased support for violence prevention programs, mental health care and crisis intervention, and youth programs that have been shown to help youth avoid violence altogether.”
Data on the impact of the Bail Reform Law:
- 2020 the bail reform law came into force in NY.
- 93,145 were the cases last year in which adults were released for the benefit of no bail, who before the reform would have been charged a payment to leave or had their detention ordered.
- 4% of those released without bail were re-arrested for alleged violent crimes.
- 3,460 persons released without bail were re-arrested for alleged violent crimes.
- 975 of them were arrested with a firearm, after first being charged with crimes that do not require bail.
- 96,45% of people on provisional release with bail did not have a new arrest according to figures of January of 2019.
- 96,14% of persons released on parole without bail in January 2021 did not present new arrests
- 1% or less of l as 45,-50,10 people awaiting trial were arrested for serious or violent crimes.
- 580 shootings were recorded as of 30 June 2020, and only one person released due to bail reform was charged with shooting.
- 2021 reduced the number of defendants who re-entered the judicial system for committing other crimes, compared to 2020.
- 98,580 felonies such as murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, grand theft, and auto theft occurred at 2021.
2020
The ‘Rise de Age’ Law in figures:
- 10 years is now the minimum age of criminal responsibility, instead of 16 Y 17, as was the case before.
- 2018 was the year of approval of the law by the State Legislature.
- 5,435 felony arrests of minors 18 years there was October 2019 to March 2020 in the state.
- 2,231 were under years.
- 3,099 were teenagers from 000 years.
- 1 of those arrests occurred in New York City.
- 10% of total arrests for firearms are minors.
- 402 minors were arrested in the last year for crimes involving weapons.
- 099 of those minors, that is to say the 18.8%, had a prior felony arrest.
- 3,975 was the total number of people arrested for offenses involving firearms.
- 172 shootings last year in New York involved minors, the most since 2015.
- 126 were victims.
- 16 minors with prior arrests were shot last year.
- 5 of them were killed.
- 2019, in October, the law to increase the criminal age entered into force.