Nassau executive Bruce Blakeman released the county’s bail reform crime report on Monday.
Earlier this year, Blakeman signed an executive order requiring the Nassau County Police Department to issue a daily report containing the names of individuals arrested, criminal case data, and bail status.
The report also details the top offenses for which suspects were released without bail and the offenses of repeat offenders who were rearrested.
County administrators have criticized New York’s bail reform policy, calling it a “crime pandemic.”
“We are going through this pandemic because of the enforcement of laws promulgated in Albany that threaten our safety,” Blakeman says. “Woke up, progressive bail reform and ‘getting older’ are making us all less safe.”
The Bail Reform Act eliminated cash bail in many misdemeanor and nonviolent felony cases.
More than 3,000 people will be arrested between April and June 2022, Blakeman said. Of this 3,000, more than 2,600 were released without bail and 195 were rearrested.
Compared to the same period in 2021, the report found controlled substance charges increased by more than 77%, theft charges increased by about 53%, and criminal activity increased by about 22%.
Amy Marion of Partner Abrams Law said reports of increased or changed crime due to bail were “completely false” and said there was no research linking the two.
“For every one or two cases he has, there’s an example of an individual who was able to get out, get into a social program, and go through drug rehabilitation,” says Marion.
She says the reforms will help those who can’t afford bail in what she calls an “unfair and racist system.”
But this reform does not sit well with others. Juan Banegas’ niece and son were among more than 20 people who suffered extensive damage to their car when the suspect allegedly threw a brick through the window.
“We all need to be vigilant, but this bail reform really doesn’t help at all,” says Banegas.