Almost half of the people who committed serious crimes in New York were released without bail

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins ​​and other politicians who voted for New York City's disastrous bail reform laws continue to cite a "study" that claims only 2% of defendants released under the new law are rearrested for violent crimes. while their case is pending. New York Post.

This study is technically accurate, but the 2% figure is completely meaningless and distorts reality.

But the reality is that even according to the "old" laws for release on bail, most of the accused were released on bail or on bail. And most of them were not re-arrested for a serious crime while their case was pending. For example, first-time accused of non-violent crimes, accused of driving under the influence or without a license, accused of minor shoplifting, jumping over turnstiles, were almost universally released without bail.

On the subject: Robber with 59 arrests released again and again without bail

In fact, in June 2019, before the new laws went into effect, the New York Post did a study on Queens. The publication found that there are only 20 defendants in Queens city jails who are awaiting trial solely because they cannot post bail. They had an average of 12 unsolved arrests, seven convictions and three court warrants. Only 398 defendants were held in Queens custody solely because they were unable to post bail. They had an average of 10 previous undisclosed arrests, six previous convictions, and two previous court warrants. 95% of these defendants were in criminal custody.

Real numbers

Under the old bail laws, only defendants charged with very serious crimes or with long convictions were held in custody.

In 2019, the state legislature passed new bail laws. Minor changes have been made in 2020. They replaced bail with a "non-monetary release."

Under this program, a judge who found that a defendant might abscond or might not appear in court could release the defendant on non-monetary release (NMR) and set conditions for his release. These are pre-trial investigation, pre-trial supervision, surrender of a passport, preservation of a place of work. These are defendants who would have been released on bail but are now released under the new NMR.

The numbers from this point of view are indeed alarming. The bail laws have been a disaster for New York State and New York City in particular.

In New York, from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, 26 people were arrested for felonies. 535% of them, 69 people, have previous convictions or their cases are under consideration. 18 of these defendants were released without monetary compensation. Of the 239 released under the NMR, 4062, or 4062%, were re-arrested while their case was pending.

Think what it means. An accused who has a previous conviction or is under investigation is subject to arrest for a criminal offence. The judge is considering his case and cannot establish bail, so he releases the defendant on non-monetary terms. Nearly half of them, 43%, were re-arrested while their cases were pending.

This is a real figure, not 2%

The re-arrest rate for defendants with pending cases or previous convictions published in the NMR is:

• 57% - home burglaries;
• 66% - commercial theft;
• 58% - grand theft;
• 68% are petty thefts.

These figures only take into account repeat arrests, not criminal activity. In 2021, there were 85 petty theft complaints filed in New York. Petty theft is an A-degree offense. 481 people are in New York prison for any A-degree offense.

But there are defendants who are easily identified by their criminal past and alleged crimes. They pose a threat to society and must be kept in jail until trial. Forty-nine states and the federal government allow it. Why not New York?

The mayor sticks to his position. But as long as these bail laws continue to force judges to release repeat offenders, there will be no reduction in crime rates.