No cash bail encourages criminals and endangers New Yorkers

“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time — or your bail,” is a common belief of proponents of maintaining bail in NYC. Crime in New York City has been rising rapidly since the no cash bail law was sent down from Albany in 2019. In fact, according to the New York Times, the Big Apple experienced “a 22 percent increase [in arrests] from 2021.” The new law forces judges to release people pretrial on no cash bail who are charged with most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. However, arson, selling controlled substances near schools, grand larceny, assault of children, and money laundering in support of terrorism, among over 100 more crimes that fall under the umbrella of this law, can have a lasting impact on a person and the community. Instead of tying the hands of judges, they should be given more discretion as to the risk of a particular individual re-committing a crime and the decision to set bail or keep him/her in jail pretrial. Rising crime rates is a threat to public safety and makes people afraid to walk the streets. Therefore, the New York State no cash bail law should be repealed. While others may be of the opinion that being in jail is detrimental to the mental health of inmates and rising crime is a national trend, not limited to just NYC, in the interest of public safety, the no cash bail should be repealed as it shows individuals there is no consequence or repercussions for crime, leading to more people recommitting offenses pretrial and an overall higher NYC crime rate.

The no cash bail law in NY State should be repealed as it is a threat to public safety by releasing potentially dangerous people back on the street to recommit crimes while they await trial. Once a person is accused of committing a crime, he/she would normally wait in jail for the trial. With the new law, people are now released back on the streets and become recidivists. According to the NYPost, “Of the 4,062 released on NMR, 1,737, or 43%, were rearrested while their case was pending” (Quinn 2022). This high rearrest rate is particularly concerning given the obscene number and severity of the crimes that fall under this law. According to an article by CBS, “Manslaughter, Arson, Hate Crimes — See All The Crimes Suspects In New York Now Get Released For Under Bail Reform” over 100 crimes qualify the accused for no cash bail, including, “Criminal sale of a controlled substance in or near a school…Reckless Assault of a child…2nd degree Manslaughter…3rd degree Arson…Grand Larceny (multiple counts)…Bail jumping (multiple counts)…Riot (multiple counts), Criminal Anarchy…Money Laundering in support of terrorism (multiple counts)” (CBSnews 2019). Knowing that people charged with such crimes are roaming the streets leaves many New Yorkers fearful for their safety. “Is it safe to walk the streets of NYC? Will I be targeted?” are the concerns of the majority of the population. Rightfully so — what people need most is safety and security, and when that starts to disappear, then it leaves most people frightened. According to the NYPost, “About 76% of residents are “very concerned,” or somewhat concerned, they’ll be targeted amid the Big Apple’s ongoing crime wave, according to the Spectrum News NY1/Siena College poll released Tuesday…In fact, a whopping 70% of New Yorkers said they feel less safe now than before the COVID-19 pandemic started” (Hogan, et.al, 2022). The start of the COVID-19 pandemic is also when the no cash bail law was instituted, so why wouldn’t people feel unsafe? Instead of keeping dangerous people in jail, politicians in Albany are allowing them to continue living their lives as normal, since, technically, they could be innocent. Yet, the no cash bail policy is what allows instances such as this one, as reported by NYPost, to occur: “The accused in this case is vagrant Darrell Johnson, 23, who spent Dec. 2 wandering about the city slugging women in the face randomly. He’d already been freed without bail on an earlier assault case, on top of a dozen-plus prior busts dating back to 2014. The husband of one victim, a 50-year-old woman who got sucker-punched while walking her dog on the Upper West Side, explains it all quite well: “When does it stop? You keep giving him more tries so that he finally kills someone, and then you lock him behind bars?” he told The Post. “It’s stupid. It’s broad daylight, 9:20 in the morning, and for someone to just come and punch you, it’s insane. It’s absolutely not acceptable. She was just minding her own business. She wasn’t engaging anybody. It was just crazy.” “She needed stitches on her lips and cheek,” he told The Post. “Her face is swollen and eyes are partially shut. It’s going to be a while before she recovers, but she’s a trouper,” he said. “She’s staying positive. I’m pretty angry that a guy like this was out on the loose.” The perp is free again with no bail and will soon “do this to somebody else,” the husband fumed” (Post Editorial Board 2021). Had this repeat criminal not been released back on the street, the poor woman would not have been hurt.

This is one of many instances that occur across the city — innocent people getting the short end of the stick for Albany’s no bail policy. For some criminals, the justice system never catches up to them to punish criminal activity. How about it?- one man has been arrested 139 times! According to Fox News, “A New York City man who’s now been arrested 139 times thanked Democrats for guaranteeing his immediate release despite repeatedly swiping hundreds of dollars from unsuspecting subway commuters since the state’s new bail reform law went into effect Jan. 1. Charles Barry, 56, has been arrested six times since the start of this year. He’s been released each time without having to post bail under New York’s new bail reform law since his alleged offenses were nonviolent, the New York Daily News reported. In the past, Barry’s served several stints in state prison and has a lengthy record, including six felonies, 87 misdemeanors and 21 missed court hearings, the newspaper reported, citing court records. “Bail reform, it’s lit!” Barry yelled to reporters…“It’s the Democrats! The Democrats know me and the Republicans fear me. You can’t touch me! I can’t be stopped!”…A high-ranking official in the New York City Police Department said because of the new bail reform law, offenders like Barry are released and then repeat the same crimes because judges cannot order them to be held in jail before trial. Sometimes, what begins as a nonviolent crime often turns violent if a robbery goes awry, he added” (Wallace 2020). Clearly, the no cash bail policy allows for criminals to get released time and time again without paying bail. This gives them the all-clear to attack ordinary citizens and get away with it. The fact that they know nothing can be done to them and they will not be held accountable under this law motivates them to be recidivists and wreak terror across the city. On the other hand, others claim that while this is true, the potential risks are outweighed by the enormous detriment being in jail has on inmates. It can create lifelong mental health problems. Nonetheless, despite any mental health risks associated with jail time, in the interest of public safety, the harms of no cash bail outweigh the benefits. No cash bail hurts more than it helps; thus, the no cash bail law should be repealed since it promotes recidivism and endangers law-abiding New Yorkers.

Moreover, the no cash bail law should be repealed as it shows people, even those who had not been previously arrested, that there is no punishment for crime, creating an overall higher crime rate in NYC. Referring back to the example of Charles Barry, who has been arrested 139 times, knowing that you can commit crimes with no repercussions makes criminals feel unstoppable, because no one in the justice system is even trying to get after them. At worst, a criminal will be “arrested” and released hours or days later. The no cash bail law has the same impact on first time offenders, because now the tides have turned, and the justice system is supporting the criminal, instead of the victim, by giving him/her no cash bail. This leads to more people committing crimes, and a crime wave that is spiraling out of control in NYC. According to the New York Times, “All told, there were 189,777 arrests citywide in 2022, a 22 percent increase from 2021. Of those, 47,572 were for the most serious crimes” (Marcius and Shanahan 2023). According to Mayor Adams, “We have a safe subway system. Transit police officers, they have done their jobs. What we must do is remove the perception of fear.” Notwithstanding, not only is crime rising on city streets, it is also rising underground. Upon further research by Chelsia Rose Marcius and Ed Shanahan, “In the subway system, crime increased by about 30 percent in 2022 over the previous year, said Michael Kemper, the chief of transit” (Marcius and Shanahan 2023). The increase in crime in NYC is correlated to the no cash bail policy. Nonetheless, others believe that crime rates have been rising in various US cities, not just in New York City; therefore, NYC is simply following national trends, and the no cash bail has nothing to do with it. However, there are flaws in this logic. While jurisdictions that do not have a no cash bail policy, such as Florida, are experiencing a decrease in crime, cities with no cash bail laws, such as Los Angeles, are experiencing quite the opposite. According to “Report: Only one of Florida’s major cities is in the top 25 for its murder rate” by Andrew Powell, “The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s 2021 statistics shows that year over year, crime rates have been falling consistently in the Sunshine State. FBI crime statistics also show the significant decrease in overall violent crime. In 2011, Florida was above the national average, with 520 violent crimes committed per 100,000 people. By 2020, Florida was down to an incident rate of 300, while nationally the crime index was 400 per 100,000” (Powell 2023). Meanwhile, according to a USA Today article by Bianca Pallaro and Tami Abdollah, “Los Angeles saw an 11% increase in its overall crime rate in 2022” (Bianca and Abdollah 2023). Further, based on a chart provided by USA Today, there were 50 crimes per 1,000 residents in 2020, followed by 53 in 2021, and 60 crimes in 2022, the highest crime rate Los Angeles has seen, going as far back to 2010. Why LA decided to reinstate this ineffective and detrimental law in 2023 after it expired in 2022 is besides the point. No cash bail clearly has an impact on a jurisdiction’s crime rate, and in order to discourage New Yorkers from committing more crimes and creating NYC’s infamously sky-high crime rates, the no cash bail law must be repealed in NY State.

Instead of tying the hands of judges and forcing them to release people on no cash bail to recommit crimes and show other New Yorkers there is no consequence for crime, judges should be given more discretion. They should be able to decide on a case-by-case basis, given past criminal records, if a person is dangerous and will likely recommit crimes or not show up for court. Prior to the bail reform, judges had the discretion to decide whether one would be released on non-monetary-release. While some may believe that this is giving judges the green light to discriminate, that reasoning is faulty as judges swear to be impartial and would not put any prejudice against the person being accused. Giving judges discretion would keep dangerous people in jail and off the streets making NYC safer for law-abiding citizens, so that they do not have to be afraid to walk on the street or ride the subway. A flat-out law banning bail for over a hundred crimes, many of which are life-altering to victims, is a detriment to New Yorkers and public safety. It should be repealed in addition to giving judges a say as to what happens in their courtrooms.

All things considered, the no cash bail law is a detriment to New Yorkers as it releases dangerous people back on the streets to recommit crimes and causes a high crime rate in NYC. Under the no cash bail law, judges have no discretion and must let out many of the accused on non-monetary release. Knowing there is no consequence for crime, they become recidivists and further hurt the community. The same goes for some other citizens who see that there is no repercussion for criminal activity and cause an even higher crime rate in NYC. The harms of bail reform greatly outweigh the benefits, and given that the no cash bail law poses a danger to public safety in New York City, it must be repealed.

Kristina Raevsky, author of A Sheep’s Tale-Young Patriot’s Guide to Saving America