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Gov. Hochul wants stricter bail procedures

Gov. Kathy Hochul is pushing for more restrictive bail legislation ahead of a State budget vote.

An internal memo leaked to national media earlier this month outlines a 10-point plan that would make, among other things, more crimes bail eligible and allow arrests for repeat offenses.

The New York Times and New York Post have both reported the governor is pushing to include the plan, which she later outlined with Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin in an op-ed published by the New York Daily News, as a non-fiscal element of the $216 billion State budget due on April 1.

The State press office pointed Times Review to the op-ed published by the New York Daily News and did not clarify if the governor plans to include the policy in her budget.

The governor highlighted the necessity of 2019 bail reforms in her op-ed, and emphasized that data does not suggest the amendments have contributed to a national increase in violent crime.

“Blaming bail reform for the increase in violence that cities across America are facing isn’t fair and isn’t supported by the data,” she wrote. “Doing so risks distracting us from what are likely far more significant factors: upheaval from the pandemic, the availability of illegal guns, increased gang activity, lower arrest rates and a backed-up court system, to name a few.”

Recent reports from the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit public policy institute at New York University School of Law, and the New York City comptroller’s office, highlight the lack of connection between increased crime and 2019 bail reform.

Ms. Hochul noted in her op-ed that bail reform still has room for improvement. Police should be able to arrest someone committing a second or third offense while out on pretrial release; hate crimes should be subject to arrest; and judges should be allowed to set bail for repeat offenders, she wrote.

Judges should also be able to set bail in all felony cases involving illegal guns, including incidents that involve minors, and judges should be able to set more restrictive pretrial conditions for individuals charged with violence and gun crimes, according to the governor.

She also proposed changing the law to “better enable licensed mental health professionals to collaborate with crisis intervention teams and police” and strengthening Kendra’s Law to make it easier for judges to require individuals struggling with serious mental illness who could be dangerous to themselves or others to participate in mandatory outpatient treatment, as well as providing additional psychiatric beds in community-based hospitals and housing.

The governor pointed to the enacted “Less is More” legislation, that does not imprison individuals for technical parole violations, and a proposal to allow incarcerated individuals to participate in the state’s Tuition Assistance Program to better rehabilitate those serving jail time.

“Taken together, these changes will continue the work of improving our laws, policies and practices to make our State a fairer and safer place — exactly what the legislature endeavored to do in 2019 and what we pledge to keep working with them on,” she wrote.

State legislators representing Shelter Island have differing opinions about the governor’s bail reform plan. State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) said via email that “bail reform has been a complete and utter failure” that “has made our communities less safe and the job of law enforcement more dangerous.”

“The law was so poorly crafted it has already been revised once and State leaders, in an election year, are saying they want to make more changes because of the fallout from this disastrous policy,” he said. “Bail reform or no cash bail needs to be fully repealed.”

The State Legislature needs to work with law enforcement stakeholders “to come up with real solutions,” he said, adding that bail reform is “only one of several pro-crime policies enacted since Democrats took complete control of State Government,” and “anti-police rhetoric in Albany has made New York State a haven for criminals and a nightmare for law abiding New Yorkers.”

Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor), however, said he agrees with Ms. Hochul that “bail reform is not solely to blame for what has been a national spike in crime,” and that the current law still needs improvement, especially the areas on repeat offenders and gun crimes.

“I am the co-sponsor of several bills already that would revise the bail reform law,” he wrote in an email. “I think the governor is on the right track and I look forward to working with her on constructive solutions.”