Other Factors Rather Than State’s Bail Reform Responsible for Crime Spike
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Kathleen M. Valletta
The recent opinion piece, “Suburbs Beware: NY’s Bail Reforms Are Threatening Your Safety,” (August 23-29) which was co-authored by Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater and former NYPD detective and Fox television regular Paul Giacomo, is just that, opinion, and is most certainly not based on facts.
Slater espouses the unsupportable premise, that the cause of New York’s rising crime rate is the bail reform bill that was enacted in 2019. Mr. Slater’s opinion is, “from the moment the law took effect, crime skyrocketed.”
Nationwide, evidence shows a rise in crime since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent rise in violence has been concentrated in areas characterized by poverty and racial segregation. New York’s bail reform is simply a concurrent rather than a causal event for the rise in crime. This is made very clear by the fact that states without similar legislation are suffering increased crime rates, which are greater than those experienced in New York. Ignoring that correlation and these facts, for the sake of sensational headlines, is the stuff of politics and I’m not playing that game.
New York State’s Bail Reform Bill did not abolish bail. Judges still have the option to set bail for incidents which involve a violent felony. Bail reform did greatly reduce the role of money in determining whether an individual charged with a crime is released or not, pending trial. New York’s law is based on the constitutional right to the presumption of innocence. Bail reform preserves this presumption and further reduces the risk that someone would be jailed because they could not afford to pay for their release pending trial. The role of money in determining whether one is released had, in effect, criminalized poverty.
Slater’s opinion piece would push the conclusion that pretrial incarceration prevents recidivism and protects us from violent offenders. In this political narrative we presume the guilt of the non-violent defendant before trial and assume he or she, the non-violent alleged offender, will reoffend with a violent crime prior to trial on the first charges.
Setting aside my objection to Slater’s penchant for accepting reinterpretation of our constitutional rights (as has happened with his taciturn acceptance of the Dobbs decision), the fact remains: Bail is not a deterrent to recidivism.
In reviewing the data obtained over the past two years since the implementation of bail reform, New York State Unified Court System data shows that arrested people (who have been charged and held over for trial) reoffend at similar rates to those who are out on bail. Bail is not a factor in determining whether or not a criminal reoffends.
Although there is no evidence that bail reform has driven the increase in crime, we need to continue to monitor its effect. We need to look for other ways to address crime. Social distancing and disruptive lockdowns have severely hindered the reach of those institutions that help preserve neighborhood safety.
Expanded mental health treatment services could identify and help people in crisis, as could addiction and substance abuse treatment, interventions that provide safe places for young people and reduce opportunities for conflict. Supporting programs to expand affordable housing could reduce strain and improve quality of life, health and safety.
These initiatives are proven to address crime, and will receive continued support as a realistic humanitarian approach to crime during my tenure as a state legislator. My time will be spent working on solutions, rather than on headlines.
Kathleen M. Valletta, a Carmel resident and attorney, is the Democratic candidate in this year’s election for the 94th Assembly District.
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