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What’s at the heart of an explosion of crime around New York City? NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea says it’s the result of Democrats’ bail reform.
What’s happening in New York could be a preview of the future elsewhere in the country as Democrats in other major cities plan to follow suit.
NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea says the skyrocketing crime in New York City is a direct result of bail reform enacted by Democrats in the state and he has the statistics to prove it.
On January 1, 2020, New York eliminated pretrial detention in cash bail.
The new law will affect an estimated 90% of arrests. Cash bail is no longer permitted for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.
Commissioner Shea pointed to the correlation between fewer criminals being held in jail and the immediate simultaneous increase in crime.
“In the first three weeks of this year, we’re seeing significant spikes in crime,” Shea said. “So either we forgot how to police New York City, or there’s a correlation. If you let out individuals that commit a lot of crime, that’s precision policing in reverse and we’re seeing the effects in a very quick time, and that is why we’re so concerned.”
“People say it just took effect, you can’t have consequences already,” Shea continued. “Take a look at the comp stat. We’re seeing it immediately at the same time that you have [state and local jail] populations dropping significantly. Now don’t tell me there’s not a correlation to that.”
“You have to have a situation where dangerous individuals, or individuals that repeatedly commit crimes and victimize people, are kept in,” Shea pointed out. “And if judges don’t have that ability, I think we’re all in trouble, and I don’t think any New Yorker wants that to happen.”
The New York Post published statistics that appear to confirm what the NYPD Police Commissioner has said about rising crime in the city.
“Since 2020 began, as of Friday at midnight, robberies are up 32.5 percent,” the New York Post reported. “Car theft is up 61 percent and burglaries are up 18 percent compared to the same time period last year.”
“And the numbers aren’t fractions either — a total of 233 more robberies have happened this year compared to last, 159 more car thefts and 125 more burglaries, just in the last three weeks,” the New York Post continued.
California leads the nation in many things and it was the first state in the nation to eliminate the cash bail system.
One of the main arguments in favor of bail reform is that a large number of people are jailed for misdemeanors simply because they cannot afford bail.
For example, the city of Houston found over 40 percent of those arrested for misdemeanors fall into this situation.
The following US cities have already enacted new laws or are in the process of reforming bail laws: Houston, Philadelphia, Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri.
