New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell are calling for targeted changes to the state’s bail reform policies, citing an increase in crime as well as recidivism.
New York passed a bail law in 2019, implemented in 2020, that blocked judges from requiring cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, which include most drug trafficking offenses. As such, many alleged offenders have been released without paying any money pending trial, and return to the streets quickly after an arrest.
