De Blasio’s Bail Reform Endangers New Yorkers
In his rush to empty Rikers Island, Mayor Bill de Blasio is putting New Yorkers at risk.
By ILANA KOLOMIYETS
Criminals in Rikers Island prison were released without bail starting New Year’s Day under a new reform by New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. His program will allow criminals accused of minor felonies, such as theft, drunk driving, and drug dealing, to be released from jail under the city’s new cashless bail policy. To tempt them to show up to court, these criminals will be given prizes like New York Mets tickets and gift cards. The reform is largely focused on shrinking the jail population of Rikers Island.
Thousands of New Yorkers are arrested each year for low level felonies. Many people argue that cash bail is too expensive for some alleged criminals to afford and that they are undeserving of pre-trial detention.
Although these problems are important, DeBlasio’s program is not the right solution. It rewards criminals for committing crimes and endangers our city along with all the people in it.
For starters, the bail reform is going to make New York City’s crime rates go up. Knowing that they won’t get jailed for low level felonies, criminals will engage in these crimes more often.
Here is how bail works: when someone is charged with a crime, they have to wait to go on trial. Usually they’re held in jail so they won’t leave town before the trial. But what if the person is innocent? Jailing then wouldn’t be fair, so suspects are instead allowed to put up money as insurance that they won’t flee. They then get the bail money back once they show up to court.
According to the Daily News, Kentucky has also advocated in the past for bail reform. However, their government officials didn’t implement it because a study done in the state showed that pre-trial crime by released defendants would increase.
New York City’s crime rates reached their record low in 2019, according to the Wall Street Journal, and de Blasio’s bail reform will reverse those numbers.
In addition to intensified crime, the bail reform will endanger students who attend schools in the city, since possessing illegal weapons will no longer be considered a crime that requires a pre-trial detention.
Last, but not least, the most menacing part of the bail reform is the non-incarceration of drunk drivers. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a threat not only to car passengers, but also to pedestrians.
The New York Post has reported the example of Farkell Hopkins, who hit and killed a man on New Year’s Day while driving his truck with a .16 blood-alcohol content — twice the legal limit of .08. Hopkins was released without bail because vehicular manslaughter is one of the over 400 offenses that are no longer bail-eligible under de Blasio’s plan.
According to the New York Department of Health, there are approximately 316 annual deaths due to vehicle related injuries. If we go easy on intoxicated drivers, the rate will increase, and more innocent pedestrians in the city will be physically injured.
New York is already filled with many large street intersections, such as the one at the Flatbush junction located right by Midwood. Why should crossing such streets be more risky than it already is?
On top of this, officials said that these programs will give out $500,000 worth of gift cards and other prizes to the released prisoners, paid for by city-funded non-profits, if they show up to court.
By enacting his bail reform, de Blasio is using the city’s money for an unethical cause when it could be used for the MTA, which needs improvement and better sanitation.
Overall, de Blasio’s program is going to put New York City in hazardous conditions. Not only is it endangering New Yorkers, but it’s not solving the root problems of criminal justice.