Under the rubric of criminal-justice reform, New York’s political class has privileged progressive politics over public safety. On January 1, 2020, a state law took effect eliminating pretrial detention by imposition of cash bail for almost all nonviolent felony and misdemeanor offenses.
Even before the outbreak of riots and looting following the May 25 killing of George Floyd spread to New York City and smaller cities upstate, New York’s bail reform was failing its law-abiding residents. In New York City, January 2020 saw a 30 percent increase in crime from January 2019. In January and February, 482 individuals were arrested for serious felony offenses, released without bail, and arrested again for committing another 846 new crimes — over a third of them serious felonies. By early March 2020, crime was up in by double digits. The NYPD released an unequivocal statement: “Criminal justice reform serves as a significant reason New York City has seen this uptick in crime.” The dangers were foreseeable and the consequences unnecessary.
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