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Adams says he’ll target 1,700 people who are responsible for violent crimes in NYC

By

Samantha Max

Published Jan 26, 2023

Modified Jan 26, 2023

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Balance sign in a courtroom

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By

Samantha Max

Published Jan 26, 2023

Modified Jan 26, 2023

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Mayor Eric Adams said in his State of the City speech Thursday that he wants to target 1,700 people who are responsible for a disproportionate number of violent crimes in the city.

“We all agree that no one should be in jail simply because they can’t afford to post bail,” he said. “But we should also agree that we cannot allow a small number of violent individuals to continue terrorizing our neighbors over and over again.”

Adams is focused on two laws that took effect in recent years: one that bars judges from setting bail for nonviolent crimes in most cases and another that added requirements for prosecutors to share evidence with defense attorneys.

“Our legal system must ensure that dangerous people are kept off the streets, innocent people are not consumed by bureaucracy, and victims can obtain resolution,” he said. “This is something we can all agree on. Let’s get it done in 2023.”

The mayor has frequently critiqued these two policies — also known as bail and discovery reform — and has tied them to rising crime in recent years. But researchers have cast doubt on that connection, saying crime rates have risen across the country, not just in New York. State data also revealed little difference in rearrest rates from before and after the reforms took effect.

Last year, the state agreed to some tweaks to the bail law, following months of lobbying from the mayor. But Adams has continued his pleas, pressing legislators to do more to stop people from committing new crimes after an arrest.

Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed her own changes to the state’s bail laws at her State of the State speech earlier this month. She wants lawmakers to get rid of a requirement for judges to set the “least restrictive” measures to ensure that someone accused of a crime returns to court.

"The bail reform law as written now leaves room for improvement," she said. "As leaders, we can't ignore that when we hear so often from New Yorkers that crime is their top concern."

The mayor also said he wants to increase funding for discovery, to ensure prosecutors and defense attorneys have the resources they need to expedite cases and share information more quickly and easily. He asked state lawmakers to help streamline the legal process.

The Legal Aid Society called Adams’s proposal for more discovery money “welcome news” but opposed any rollbacks to state law. The public defender organization also asked the mayor to allocate additional funding for a salary boost, saying that they are “hemorrhaging” staff and struggling to attract new attorneys for little pay.

“Mayor Adams frequently references the need for a fully functioning legal system, and we are very much a part of that system, representing some of New York City’s most vulnerable residents,” the Legal Aid Society said in a press release. “For the wheels of justice to turn, all of our needs must be met.”

Along with updates to bail and discovery reform, Adams announced several other plans aimed at improving public safety in the coming year, including:

This story and its headline have been updated.

Tagged

state of the city

discovery

eric adams

Bail reform

Samantha Max

Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.

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