As crime rises, AOC calls for lower bail for criminals

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter on Monday to the New York City's district attorneys “requesting information on excessive bail in the NYC court system.”

In the letter – whose authors include Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Rep. Jamie Raskin and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – the Democratic lawmakers suggest that “excessive bail” results in increased rates of incarceration and ultimately keeps prisoners in jail longer than necessary.

"We have grave concerns that excessive bail amounts are leading to unnecessary pretrial detention and contributing to a humanitarian crisis in New York City’s jail system, particularly on Rikers Island," the letter stated.  

The members went on to request briefings from the district attorneys of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Richmond County and Queens, along with “new bail hearings for, and consent to the release of, all detainees who are charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies, as well as those who face significant health risks due to the coronavirus." 

Their letter further warned that "if these conditions are not addressed, federal intervention may be necessary to protect detainees from additional harm."

"High bail amounts lead to a two-tiered system of justice, with those who can afford bail being able to escape the inhumane conditions at pretrial detention facilities such as Rikers Island while those who cannot afford bail are forced to remain," the letter stated.

Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis fired back on Twitter, pointing out that Darrell Brooks, the man accused of driving his SUV into a parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin – leaving five dead and 48 injured – was released on what Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm acknowledged was an "inappropriately low" bail recommendation.

“On the same day we learned the man who plowed through Milwaukee parade was a career criminal out on low bail, my NYC colleagues are pushing for MORE criminals to be released from jail when NY already lets tons of criminals loose thanks to Dems’ bail reform,” Malliotakis wrote.

The concern surrounding the relationship between low bail and increased criminality is not new, however. A Feb. 2020 NYPD report found that serious crime increased in five of seven categories after New York State passed a bail-reform law which mandates the release of most defendants charged with “non-violent” misdemeanors and felonies.

Among other things, the report ultimately found that shootings rose by 27.3 percent and auto thefts shot up by an unprecedented 70 percent.

Following the report, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea also blamed bail reform for “significant spikes” in crime in New York City, the New York Post reported. 

“If you let out individuals that commit a lot of crime, that’s precision policing in reverse and we’re seeing the effects in a very quick time, and that is why we’re so concerned,” Shea said.

Recent NYPD data shows that crime has not gone down in recent months. Overall, index crime rose by 11.2 percent in October 2021 when compared to last year. Although murders decreased slightly, the total number of gun arrests increased by 13.9 percent.