Elected leaders should follow the data showing that rolling back this successful policy won’t make New York safer. They must reject changes to this successful policy and prioritize investments in evidence-based solutions that will advance public safety.
We applaud the One-House budgets from the Senate and Assembly that show a clear commitment to protecting bail reform and not rolling back this successful policy. safety across the state.
Bail reform has contributed to the prosperity of New York by allowing people to maintain their lives in their communities rather than remain in jail awaiting trial. It also has not compromised public safety, demonstrating, once again, that effective criminal justice policy can reduce incarceration while maintaining safety. Analysis by FWD.us showed that the vast majority of cases affected by bail reform did not result in a re-arrest for a violent felony, and overall rearrest rates remained stable pre- and post-bail reform.
The facts are clear: Bail reform has been resoundingly successful. As many as 183,000 New Yorkers have been spared the injustices of bail and pretrial jailing since passage and 98% of those released under bail reform have not been rearrested for a violent crime. But some lawmakers are proposing rollbacks that would dramatically increase pretrial incarceration and racial disparities and undo years of work towards ending the criminalization of poverty – all without advancing public safety.
Hear from real New Yorkers why bail reform must be protected.
Hear from FWD.us New York State Director for Criminal Justice Reform, Rodney Holcombe as he talks with PIX11 about bail reform successes in New York.
New York passed a historic package of pretrial reforms in 2019. Watch three New York families explain how money bail harmed their families and how they fought for change.