According to reports, Manhattan’s newly sworn-in DA advised his staff he does not plan to pursue various felonies, including evading arrest. At the very same time, New York City’s freshly elected mayor promised to clamp down on rising crime.
Former federal prosecutor Alvin Bragg, the new Manhattan District Attorney, instructed his office to “decriminalize and non-prosecute” marijuana use, turnstile hopping, loitering, refusing arrest, disrupting an arrest, and prostitution.
The DA’s office will also not pursue carceral punishment other than for homicide or class B severe felonies in which a dangerous weapon causes significant damage or domestic violence offenses, with certain exclusions in exceptional circumstances.
Manhattan’s new Soros-funded DA just declared that armed robbery is now a misdemeanor
He argues that just because a criminal points a gun at your head, that doesn’t mean there was any “genuine risk of physical harm”
You have to be suicidal to continue living in a city like this pic.twitter.com/VzKq8JJ4LU
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) January 5, 2022
According to the document, reserving imprisonment for cases involving serious injury would make us safer.
Discouraging Cops
Bragg’s office also states it will pursue a maximum of 20 years in jail for any offenses that do not carry a life sentence. He will never pursue life without parole in any case, no matter how horrific.
According to Bragg’s office, pre-trial imprisonment would be suggested only in very severe circumstances.
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has announced that he won't prosecute certain crimes, including: marijuana misdemeanors, including selling more than three ounces, not paying public transportation fare, resisting arrest, and prostitution https://t.co/ee3HRVI1r5
— CNN (@CNN) January 6, 2022
According to the document, “the facts suggest the vast majority of people released pretrial do not conduct violent crimes while on the run.”
“Two studies suggest even three days in jail can result in the loss of residence, work, and family ties, as well as a rise in the chance of failing to show up in court.”
Bragg’s stance on bail is consistent with that of progressive district attorneys around the country, including those in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Austin. Bail and imprisonment standards have been reduced in the name of “reform.”
Shortly after the letter was revealed, the New York Police Benevolent Association issued a statement on social media, voicing grave worry about the idea.
They continue to be concerned about the message these sorts of regulations convey to both law enforcement officers and offenders on the street, said PBA President Patrick J. Lynch.
Cops do not want to be sent around enforcing laws that will not be prosecuted by district attorneys. There have already been far too many individuals who feel they can break laws, defy arrest, and meddle with police personnel with no repercussions.
Lynch went on to say he is looking forward to “addressing these problems” with Bragg.
Reforms Doing More Harm Than Good
Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat and a veteran policeman who was sworn in on New Year’s Eve, ran on a platform of tackling the city’s crime problem and bail reform concerns.
Adams also said he hasn’t talked to the DA. In the summertime, then-candidate Adams said Bragg’s stance on crime is no different from his.
However, the mayor has also spoken against New York City’s weak bail policies and promised this week that offenders will not bring bloodshed to his city.
According to NYPD data, crime surged in nearly every major area in 2021, reaching levels not seen in the metropolis in five years.
For the first time since 2016, the homicide rate and rates of thefts, felony attacks, break-ins, grand larcenies, and auto thefts surpassed 100,000.
