New York City. A city of the arts, innovation, and overwhelming taxation. Where a 5 dollar cheeseburger costs you $8.79 because the city needs their taste too. Given the need for money to drive everything in that city, it should come as no surprise that they are looking for ways to keep it flowing, and their newest DA Alvin Bragg is making that very apparent with his latest change in incarceration policy as he outlined to his Assistant District Attorneys (ADA) and others.
In a memo to his staff (as obtained by a local CBS affiliate), Bragg explained his background and where his mindset for these changes come from. “Growing up in Harlem in the 1980s, I saw every side of the criminal justice system from a young age. Before I was 21 years old, I had a gun pointed at me six times: three by police officers and three by people who were not police officers…Late last year, during a stretch of multiple shootings within three blocks of my home, I had perhaps the most sobering experience of my life: seeing ––through the eyes of my children–– the aftermath of a shooting directly in front of our home, as we walked together past yellow crime scene tape, seemingly countless shell casings, and a gun, just to get home.”
He then went on to explain what changes would be coming for his office. “There is a presumption of pre-trial non-incarceration for every case except those with charges of homicide or the death of a victim, a class B violent felony in which a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument causes serious physical injury, sex offenses in Article 130 of the Penal Law, domestic violence felonies or charges of PL § 215.50, public corruption, rackets, or major economic crimes, including any attempt to commit any such offense under Article 110 of the Penal Law. For any charge of attempt to cause serious physical injury with a dangerous instrument, ADAs must obtain the approval of an ECAB supervisor to seek pretrial detention.”
So, he wants his ADAs to ask for permission to do their jobs properly? Given the number of ADAs in NYC, it would be very easy for a criminal to commit tens to hundreds of individual crimes before actually being held while awaiting trial. Is that really what this storied city needs at this point?
Given the rise in crime in many of the cities controlled by Democrats, a policy like this just increases crime. In places like San Francisco (where they have lost thousands of police) people have been leaving nothing in their vehicles and leaving doors unlocked to prevent damage. People have been hiring private security to keep themselves safe just going to get their mail. Simply, people are afraid to go out of their homes.
In Chicago, the smash and grab robberies have become legendary as of late. With Mayor Lori Lightfoot stripping police of funding, she has seen the crime skyrocket as well. Her response wasn’t to restore funding. It wasn’t to admonish the people committing the crimes. Instead, her brilliant idea was to blame shop owners for not hiring more private security, locking up valuables with chains, and other nonsensical ideas that no store owner should have to endure.
With NYC traditionally seen as a very walkable (and subway safe) city since the 1980s under Ed Koch, it is amazing just how far they have fallen. This latest policy is just more Democratic failure disguised as a societal problem. If it continues to spread, there won’t be anywhere for the good God-fearing people to live their lives in freedom. It will instead become us versus them. Then again, maybe that’s what the Democrats want anyways. Given the $1 million donation Soros funneled through the Color of Change political action committee for Bragg, it would make sense.