NEW YORK – Assemblyman Joseph Angelino (R,C,I-Norwich) joined his Assembly and Senate Republican colleagues in calling for the state to bring back law and order. New York has faced a large crime spike over the past few years, making it a challenge to ensure public safety in communities throughout the state.

“The responsibility shouldered by our law enforcement to keep our communities safe was already significant, but with bail reform and the lack of support from some public officials, their job has become all the more difficult,” said Angelino, who is also a retired police chief. “It’s time for progressive Democrats to admit bail reform in New York is a failure, and it is time to repeal it now.

Something must be done to stem the growing lawlessness in our state and as a law-enforcement professional myself, I want to be a part of the conversation to fix this problem. People deserve to be safe in their communities.”

Statistics show bail reform has been an abject failure by removing the discretion of judges to hold a defendant who may be deemed a threat to the public and eliminating the ability to hold defendants accountable through bail until their trial. Statewide, criminals were emboldened by the lack of immediate consequences for breaking the law, resulting in reports across the state of individuals being rearrested, sometimes even on the same day.

New York has faced a staggering crime increase in recent years. Murders increased by 46.7 percent between 2019 and 2020. Furthermore, the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that New York state has the highest demand for domestic violence services in the nation.

The great strides made decades before in New York City to clean up crime have been lost and will only be exasperated by the new Manhattan District Attorney’s pledge to not prosecute many crimes and to downgrade some felonies to misdemeanors. The crime index in New York City jumped by 21.3 percent in November 2021, compared to 2020. Hate crimes have increased by 97 percent in New York City over the same time frame.

– From the Office of Assemblyman Joseph Angelino