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Eric Adams slams ‘broken’ bail reform, reveals TEN recidivists responsible for nearly 500 arrests, most roaming free

August 4, 2022 | | Print Article

New York City Mayor Eric Adams lashed out Wednesday at his state’s bail reform law after word emerged that the city’s recidivism rate is so high that its top 10 most prolific criminals have been arrested 485 times since the law went into effect in 2020.

The problem, he explained, is that each time they’re arrested for committing a crime, they’re released back onto the streets and thus given the option to re-offend.

“Time and time again, our police officers are making arrests, and then the person who is arrested for assault, felonious assault, robberies, and gun possessions, they’re finding themselves back on the street within days, if not hours after arrest, and they go on to commit more crimes within weeks, if not days,” he said during a press conference, according to a transcript.

“Under the current law, judges are not allowed to consider whether someone is a threat to public safety when deciding whether or not to hold them in custody. This is a big mistake. New York, as the commissioner stated, is the only state in the union that is not unified on the power of public safety as a prerequisite to how we judge these cases,” he said.

He added, “As a result of this insane, broken system, our recidivism rates have skyrocketed, and those who say that the predicted wave of recidivism wouldn’t happen and the studies that claim to show that the rate of arrests for violent felonies has not changed since the reforms were passed, I have one word for you: wrong. You are wrong.”

Speaking next, Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri offered examples of this recidivism.

One criminal whom he identified as “recidivist number six” is a “commercial burglar” who’s been arrested 57 times since New York’s bail law went into effect two years ago for targeting “the same locations” over and over again.

Another criminal, “recidivist number one,” has been arrested 101 times.

“He’s considered a chronic petty larceny, grand larceny recidivist. He’s hit one location 20 times. The same location 20 times. And again, we’re talking about arrests here. We’ve arrested that individual 100 times. How many crimes do you think you really committed? 200, 300, 1,000? Guess what? There’s a victim behind each one of those crimes,” Lipetri said.

According to the latest New York Police Department statistics obtained by the New York Post, the top 10 recidivists have been arrested 485 times since New York’s bail law went into effect two years ago.

A number of these recidivists are on the streets right now, according to Lipetri.

“Recidivist number one … he has 14 failures to appear. And guess what? He’s walking around the streets of New York City today, probably committing another crime as we speak, and we’ll arrest him for it,” he said.

Then there’s recidivist number two, who’s been arrested 67 times in the last two years, and recidivist number three, who’s been arrested 58 times since 2020.

The list goes on and on.

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell also spoke at Wednesday’s conference.

“This is about recidivists who cause New Yorkers to suffer needlessly. Every day as hardworking New Yorkers start their day or night of work or school or to simply enjoy what this city has to offer, recidivist criminals are planning or taking the opportunity to commit their next larceny, robbery, burglary or other crime,” she said.

“Their efforts are increasingly aided by the fact that after the NYPD has arrested them, the criminal justice system fails to hold them appropriately accountable for their actions. These offenders face very few, if any, repercussions, despite committing crime after crime and the number of victims continues to go up.”

Unfortunately, despite the mayor’s denunciation of the state’s bail law, the onus of action falls on far-left Gov. Kathy Hochul. The problem is she refuses to play ball.

In fairness, she did revise the bail law in May. However, many say the revisions are not enough. She, however, believes otherwise:

“I encourage everyone in the entire ecosystem related to public safety starting with law enforcement and our district attorneys and our judges to review the bail laws that were enacted in the budget, that came in effect on May 9th. Every one of those changes gives them the tools they need to work toward our common objective of increasing public safety,” she claimed during a presser of her own Wednesday.

This reportedly prompted a clap back from Albany County District Attorney David Soares.

“To suggest that Legal experts who have devoted their entire careers to the practice of criminal law are not following the law, or are confused about the law, is an absurd talking point developed by the legislators and architects of these ineffective policies. Gov. Hochul is right about one thing, however; the bail laws are not the ONLY cause for increased violence,” he said in a statement.

“We should add Raise the Age to the list of the failed policies contributing to the destruction of inner city communities throughout New York State. That being said, It is very disappointing to hear our governor embrace and support these talking points, which are not founded in the day-to-day realities of the justice system.”

Vivek Saxena
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