Chief Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri said the same criminals
are committing more crimes after being released on a DAT.
Photo by Todd Maisel
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 13-MARCH 19, 2020 13
BY TODD MAISEL
For the month of February
2020, major crimes in New
York City rose a whopping 22.5
percent when compared to the
same period in 2019 – with much
of the blame going to repeat offenders
who have been released
under the criminal justice reforms
that release many felons
without bail.
There was some good news
as the murder rate dropped
20.0 percent from 25 in 2019 to
20. Rape reports also dropped 6
percent from 133 last year to 125
this year, officials said.
The city however saw a 7.1
percent increase in shooting
incidents, from 42 from last
year’s 45; Robberies increased
32.7 percent from 891 last year to
1,182 this year; assaults rose 9.2
percent as did burglaries rose
19.1 percent; grand larceny increased
23.9 percent and grand
larceny auto jumped a whopping
61.6 percent.
In all there were a total of
7,632 major crimes for February
versus 6,228 major crimes for
the same period last year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio joined
Commissioner Dermot Shea in
calling on legislative action to
correct some of the deficiencies
in the criminal justice reforms,
including giving judges discretion
in setting bail or even holding
people who a judge deems as
likely to commit another crime
or has committed other major
crimes while awaiting the determination
of a desk appearance
ticket.
Some major crimes, including
robbery in the third degree
and most burglaries, grand
larcenies and car thefts, are released
from custody with a desk
appearance ticket and are free
to commit more crimes while
awaiting their day in court.
Of those who were re-arrested,
99 were re-arrested for
robbery, 65 for grand larceny,
65 for felonious assault and one
for murder. These don’t include
hundreds of misdemeanor
crimes.
Chief Crime Control Strategies
Michael LiPetri took center
stage to provide data to prove
that bail reform had gone awry.
He said 482 people who been arrested
for felonies such as robbery
or burglary, accounted for
846 crimes. He said 35 percent,
or 299 people were arrested
in the seven major categories
– “the same people were committing
additional crimes after
being released from custody on
a DAT.”
Some of those same people
released with a desk appearance
ticket for a felony committed
murder, rape, robbery, assault,
burglaries and a variety
of grand larceny including car
theft. That is nearly triple the
amount of those crimes committed
in the same 58 days in 2019.
All of the people were arrested
for offenses that prior to Jan
1 and bail reform, could have
landed them in jail.
“Last night we arrested an
individual, charged with 25
burglaries, but because there
was no evidence of a firearm,
you can’t give him bail,” LiPetri
said. “If you are charged with
one burglary or 25, the subject
matter remains the same and its
the same as being charged with
one. Part of the problem is with
discovery and we are working
with DA’s office to make cases.”
Lipetri said he was confident
in his data and was incredulous
that the NYPD had to keep arresting
the same people for the
same and sometimes more serious
crimes.
Commissioner Dermot Shea,
who was a proponent of criminal
justice reform, says the
laws have gone too far. He said
some victims are being “re-victimized”
as people are released
with only a desk appearance
ticket, or in some instances,
cases are being deferred or even
dismissed.
“There are victims every
day that we are seeing and to
them, it makes no sense and
we have to explain to these victims,”
Shea said. “What they
(the victims) say is that it makes
no sense.There is a whole series
of serious arrests but they are
mandated to be DAT’s. It has
grown from 60 to 800 with deferrals
at a very high rate. These
same people committing the
same crimes must be released
without bail.”
As felonies rise, NYPD blames repeat
offenders released with no bail
/QNS.COM