New York Post: Governor Wrong About Benefits of Bail Reform

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Division of Criminal Justice Services just released new New York City data that, according to no-bail advocates, “prove” that the state’s criminal-justice reforms aren’t boosting crime. It’s a crock, of course.

The New York Post is disputing the pro-bail reform stand of the state's governor.

Surprise, surprise, surprise: Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Division of Criminal Justice Services just released new New York City data that, according to no-bail advocates, “prove” that the state’s criminal-justice reforms aren’t boosting crime. It’s a crock, of course.

The advocates point out that recidivism is slightly down from 2019 to the first nine months of 2021. That is, people who get arrested but then released (whether because the reforms eliminated bail for most crimes, or because they generally lowered bail amounts) are still caught re-offending within six months at about the same rate as before.  

What this oh-so-conveniently leaves out is that, as the reformers intended, a heck of a lot more perps are being sprung (that is, granted “supervised release”) pending trial. “Decarceration” is the whole point.

Which means a larger group of people is reoffending at the same rate.

Read complete editorial at New York Post.

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