Yesterday in @NYDailyNews, I debunked fearmongering over bail reform. Warned police wanted to jail even more people than before by giving judges new power to detain people they felt were “dangerous.”
Today, NYC Police Chief peddles lies in this @nytimes oped to do just that:
Today, NYC Police Chief peddles lies in this @nytimes oped to do just that:
Lie: He claims new laws are “ill-considered.”
Truth: “The new bail laws, derived from years of advocacy & experience, are an incremental step of simply disallowing bail on people charged w/ misdemeanors & non-violent felonies, all while increasing pretrial services.”
Truth: “The new bail laws, derived from years of advocacy & experience, are an incremental step of simply disallowing bail on people charged w/ misdemeanors & non-violent felonies, all while increasing pretrial services.”
Lie: He claims the new reforms “present a significant challenge to public safety.”
Truth: “NY bail reform is nothing new. It is no more than a continuation of the measured steady decline in those detained pretrial that has, in turn, paralleled a significant drop in crime rates.”
Truth: “NY bail reform is nothing new. It is no more than a continuation of the measured steady decline in those detained pretrial that has, in turn, paralleled a significant drop in crime rates.”
Lie: “The NYPD favors criminal justice reforms & bail reform.”
Ridiculous lie.
Truth: “NYPD has long lead the racist tradition of peddling fear to maintain power & perpetuate unfairness & oppression at the expense of poor people, predominately from black & Latinx communities.”
Ridiculous lie.
Truth: “NYPD has long lead the racist tradition of peddling fear to maintain power & perpetuate unfairness & oppression at the expense of poor people, predominately from black & Latinx communities.”
Brief pause. I have not even made it past @NYPDShea’s second paragraph of his breathless lies & cynicism parading as a serious “oped.” I’m going to keep going, but here’s the oped I wrote yesterday, based in truth & experience. Not fear. nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-ope…
Lie: NYPD Chief claims to speak for “victims” in calling for more jail.
Truth: “73% of crime victims support ending pretrial detention for misdemeanors and non-Violent felonies.”
Truth: “73% of crime victims support ending pretrial detention for misdemeanors and non-Violent felonies.”
Lie: He claims he wants a system that “doesn’t undermine, but supports, public safety.”
Truth 1: More jail isn’t necessary for public safety. “In NYC, jail rates decreased by 74% over last 3 decades, from 21,674 in 1991 to 5,674 in 2020. major felonies dropped by nearly 82%.”
Truth 1: More jail isn’t necessary for public safety. “In NYC, jail rates decreased by 74% over last 3 decades, from 21,674 in 1991 to 5,674 in 2020. major felonies dropped by nearly 82%.”
Truth 2 (on public safety claim): “In Brooklyn weve been practicing what the bail law now requires for years: release for most people charged w/ misdemeanors/non-violent felonies. In the same period, Brooklyn’s streets not filled with blood. Violent crime rate has plummeted.”
Truth 3 (on @NYPDShea’s lie about public safety): Jail is “criminogenic.” People overwhelmingly are released. Often within days. But those mere days makes it *more likely* they’ll be rearrested. More stats at: JusticeNotFear.org.
Lie: Fact that NY is an outlier in the US & doesn’t *yet* allow judges to try to predict dangerousness is bad for public safety.
Fact: NY should view that exceptionalism as a good thing. Without it: historic public safety. And this: Only 2% released are rearrested for violence.
Fact: NY should view that exceptionalism as a good thing. Without it: historic public safety. And this: Only 2% released are rearrested for violence.
Lie: Fearmongers over scary sounding charges like “burglary” & “weapons possession” & “robbery” now being released.
Fact: People charged w/ those now bail ineligible charges have been released *for years* w/ no fanfare or “mayhem.” They show up to court. Rarely get rearrested.
Fact: People charged w/ those now bail ineligible charges have been released *for years* w/ no fanfare or “mayhem.” They show up to court. Rarely get rearrested.
Lie: “We can trust New York State’s judges to use this discretion wisely.”
Truth: “For decades, judges routinely & purposefully set bail in amounts people could not afford. The result: Thousands of people locked up, pretrial, presumed innocent, & only because they were poor.”
Truth: “For decades, judges routinely & purposefully set bail in amounts people could not afford. The result: Thousands of people locked up, pretrial, presumed innocent, & only because they were poor.”
Lie: “Significant bail reform can be achieved” by giving judges more discretion.
Truth: “Ending cash bail does not require the creation of a new mechanism to incarcerate. Armed with even more discretion to do so, most judges will do so. We know this from experience.” Examples —>
Truth: “Ending cash bail does not require the creation of a new mechanism to incarcerate. Armed with even more discretion to do so, most judges will do so. We know this from experience.” Examples —>
.@NYPDShea: This is what dangerousness would mean:
“Just last week, a parentless teen charged w/ gun possession, a violent felony, released since August w/ no new arrests. Actively engaged w/ a youth social worker. He’d be deemed “dangerous” and detained.”
“Just last week, a parentless teen charged w/ gun possession, a violent felony, released since August w/ no new arrests. Actively engaged w/ a youth social worker. He’d be deemed “dangerous” and detained.”
@NYPDShea Another brief pause in responding to @NYPDShea's breathless lies & cynicism parading as a serious “oped.” I’m going to keep going, but here’s the oped I wrote yesterday, based in truth & experience. Not fear. nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-ope…
