Reponse to criminal justice reform

I would like to respond to the Board of Supervisors statement on the new bail reform laws. I recognize these laws have flaws, and aspects will be challenging to implement.

However, the statement needlessly stirs up public fear by only telling half the story. This is disingenuous and a disservice to the public. How do you identify where the real problems lie and come up with effective solutions when you aren’t discussing the whole picture?

For example, the statement doesn’t mention that bail for low-level offenders has already been eliminated in other places without disastrous effects on public safety. In Erie County, the DA has not recommended bail for low-level offenders for the last year and a half, in response to a study that showed judges were not considering defendants’ ability to pay when they set bail amounts (as is required by law), among other problems. Since the change, the jail population has dropped by 50%, while defendants continue to show up for hearings and the number of arrests hasn’t changed significantly. Similarly, a report from the New Jersey state Judiciary about the effects of their 2-year-old bail reform law recently stated, “Concerns about a possible spike in crime and failures to appear did not materialize”.

As another example, the statement bemoans additional costs to the DA and Probation offices.

What the statement doesn’t mention is cost savings in running the jail, which cost $6.2 million in 2018 – 18% of Madison County’s total tax levy of $35 million, and one of the largest items in the budget. That year, 31% of the inmates were being held pretrial for a misdemeanor (Sheriff’s Department Annual Report); that cost will disappear under the new laws. The 2018 cost for the DA’s office was $1.0 million, and for Probation was $1.1 million. At first glance, it seems to me that the reduction in jail costs should balance out increases in the DA and Probation budgets. The county has likely done this calculation, but it’s not mentioned in their statement.

Finally, the statement leaves out any discussion of the real problems with the current system. Across upstate NY, 59% of the county jail population consists of un-sentenced inmates (NYS Association of Counties). In Madison County in 2018, that number was 68%. What percent of these inmates are in jail pre-trial only because they are too poor to afford bail? What percent eventually go to trial and are acquitted, or accept plea deals even when they’re not guilty just to get out of jail? What is the ripple effect in society in terms of evicted families, children going to foster care?

I support our local police. I care about victims. And I know that I’m neither a law enforcement officer nor a lawyer. But I can tell that the Board of Supervisors statement was not designed to come up with sensible solutions. It was designed to frighten people. I do not support whipping up fears in the public by telling half-truths. I would rather solve problems.