“NYPD is Doing its Job,” says Mayor Adams, "Bail Reform is to Blame"

By Yehudit Garmaise

New York remains the only state in the US that prevents judges from considering whether arrested criminals remain threats to public safety when determining bail, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said today at One Police Plaza.

The current bail reform law, Mayor Eric Adams said, “quickly returns dangerous and violent criminals back to the streets to commit more crimes and hurt more people.” 

While the police department is doing its job, judges, prosecutors, and lawmakers must do their jobs as well, said Mayor Adams. 

A 22-year veteran of the NYPD said. “All four components of the criminal justice system have to operate in unison to drive down crime.”

Touting the work of the NYPD, the mayor proudly said that arrests have increased by a 24% for a total of 109,000 arrests this year, as of Aug. 1, in comparison to the 87,794 arrests made during the same period in 2021.

Arrests for seven major felonies are up by 29%, and firearms arrests are at a 27-year high, as the NYPD has taken more than 4,300 illegal guns off the city’s streets by the end of July, the mayor pointed out. 

Despite the good work of the NYPD, crime rates are now up by 40% compared to this time last year.

This statistic led Mayor Adams to call New York’s criminal justice system, “insane.”

“Time and time again our police officers are making arrests, and then the people who are arrested for assaults, robberies, and gun possession are back on the streets within days, if not hours after being arrested,” the mayor said.

If only judges could keep dangerous criminals in custody, crime rates may come down, as the city’s perpetrators are comprised of a small number of people who are taking advantage of the existing [bail reform] laws, said the mayor, who called preventing judges’ discretion in determining bail, “a mistake.”

Thanks to New York’s bail reform, a group of 10 of the city’s worst criminals was busted a total of 485 times since bail reform was enacted in January 2020, the NYPD reported.

In addition, NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri, said, “The NYPD Precision Policing Department has identified 716 individuals who are responsible for 30% of the shooting incidents since 2021.”

“A small number of criminals are using the reform to continue to inflict violence on our city,” said the mayor. “But no one sitting the bench, making our laws, and no one who should be aggressively prosecuting these cases is coming up with solutions.”