We must follow facts, not fear: Bail reform not the reason for rise in some crimes in NYC

It is impossible to open a New York newspaper today and avoid headlines about crime and violence. For most, it doesn’t matter that what is amplified in the news are extreme, outlier cases. New Yorkers are understandably scared because it feels like crime and violence is widespread. They are looking for solutions to make them feel safe again in their city. And when their mayor, former police officer Eric Adams, tells them that bail reform is one cause of crime and violence, that fear then morphs into anger and a now-growing call to change the two-year-old New York bail law, which made some lower-level offenses ineligible for bail.

Here is the reality: Because of bail reform, nearly 200,000 more innocent-until-proven-guilty people have been free to be with their families, jobs, housing, education and communities without the threat of being detained on Rikers Island and other violent jails across the state. This hasn’t just saved lives, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, it has saved taxpayers $638 million annually. And just as before bail reform, of those who are released pretrial — including people charged with violent felonies, who judges still have power to detain under the law — nearly 95% have not been rearrested for anything, and 99% have not been rearrested for violent felonies.

Given the power of fear and anger, I realize that the human and fiscal cost of pretrial incarceration — or even the close to 200,000 bail reform success stories — might not feel sufficiently compelling. I also realize that the simple fact that short-run increases in crime are consistent across the United States has not seemed to convince New Yorkers that pointing fingers at bail reform is misguided. So I thought it was important to provide New Yorkers who understandably feel scared with some long-term, New York perspective.

Read the full article here.