Gov. Kathy Hochul Says Perpetrators of Hate Crimes Need to be Arrested, not merely Given Tickets

 By Yehudit Garmaise

 Gov. Kathy Hochul does not blame New York’s sharp increase in crime and violence on bail reform, however, in an Op-Ed in the NY Daily News today, she proposed many practical adjustments to the controversial law that was enacted in January 2020.

 “When one out of four people arrested for gun crimes goes on to be re-arrested, we haven’t done enough,” the governor wrote. “These repeat offender rates were a failure before bail reform, and they remain a failure today.”

 The first change Hochul proposed is to allow police to arrest criminals who, while out on pre-trial release: commit second or third offenses.

 Currently most misdemeanors, such as assault, theft of service and property, and possession of drugs, and even hate crimes, are not bail-eligible, meaning that perpetrators of these crimes return right back to the streets: often to continue with their criminal activities.

 Repeat offenders and perpetrators of such crimes are only brief interrupted by police, who are now not allowed to make formal arrests.

 Instead, New York police are limited to issuing to perpetrators of many crimes: “Desk Appearance Tickets” (DATs), which are summons for accused criminals to appear in court to respond to accusations that they have committed crimes.

 As a result, police cannot bring alleged perpetrators of many crimes into precincts for questioning and jail time: until they are released on bail because no bail was allowed to be set.

 Judges, the governor wrote, should be allowed to set bail for anyone who repeats crimes and anyone who commits felonies that involve illegal guns, argued the governor.

 Lastly, the governor said judges should be able to set more restrictive pre-trial conditions, such as whether defendants have histories of using firearms or previously violated orders of protection.