Bail Reform Was Mishandled, but It Can Be Fixed
New York’s bail reform was well-intended, but led to more street crime. Photo: katerha
By ALDEN LEE and HARIS KHAN
In 2010, a 16-year-old named Kalief Browder was arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack. The teenager was jailed on Rikers Island without trial for three years. His family couldn’t afford his bail, and charges were eventually dropped. Tragically, Browder hung himself two years later. It’s hard to imagine that the mental strain from those three years and his experience in jail wasn’t a factor.
This case showed the importance of reforming cash bail. Browder’s death could have been prevented if cash bail was not as much of a burden on the poor. However, the careless way New York implemented bail reform in 2020 has just replaced one problem with another.
The system of cash bail allows a defendant to pay a specified amount for temporary freedom before their trial. After the defendant makes all their court appearances, the money is returned. However, the most glaring issue with cash bail is that poor suspects will be stuck in jail if they’re not able to afford the set bail.
For this reason, in 2020, New York effectively eliminated bail for many crimes. But under the current reform, we see extreme scenarios such as that of Isaac Rodriguez. Rodriguez was arrested 74 times since 2015, 46 times in 2021 alone. The charges brought forward in a recent arrest were petit larceny and stolen property charges. Rodriguez was let out because these charges do not qualify for bail.
The NYPD’s crime statistics from 1990 to 2019 show a general downwards trend of crime. However, crime has spiked up since 2020, the year bail reform was put in place.
Mayor Eric Adams has pitched the idea of a “measure of dangerousness” in deciding whether or not bail may be set. Dermot F. Shea, the New York City police commissioner, seems to agree. “When you have individuals that are standing before a judge and immediately being released, and essentially everyone in the room knows that this person is a danger to the community, I think we need to look at the system and make sure that judges can make common-sense decisions,” Shea said.
Clearly, criminals being released with nearly no consequences poses a big risk. “They will repeat the crime,” said senior Saad Tasnim. “They won't learn and will just repeat the offense again knowing that they can get out once more.”
The current bail reform was mishandled. That being said, cash bail should still be heavily curtailed. For misdemeanors or non-violent felonies, bail should be set at first to a very low amount that would increase exponentially for repeat offenders. Once a suspect reaches a high number of arrests, even for low-level crimes, they should no longer be eligible for bail.
That’s a way to keep our streets safe while also making sure we don’t see any more tragedies like that of Kalief Browder.