The crime stories in New York continue to get bleaker, raising the question of why the state has a criminal justice system at all.
On Monday, a man in the Bronx was stabbed 15 times in the chest and back in an unprovoked attack. Fatal stabbings in New York City are up 43% this year over last. There has been a mild decrease in homicides and the number of people shot, but other crimes have risen. Grand larceny is up 48%, auto theft is up 42%, robbery is up 40%, felonious assault is up 19%, and rape is up 10%.
Part of the reason is that the city’s justice system has become a revolving door for career criminals. A photographer for the New York Daily News was dragged for three blocks trying to prevent a man from stealing his car. The suspect, Tabbica Mahmoud, had previously been arrested 26 times, including 17 felony arrests.
According to NYPD data, 10 career criminals have been arrested a combined 485 times since the city enacted its bail reform law. The top criminal on the list, Harold Gooding, has 15 convictions, including three felonies. He has failed to appear in court 14 times, has violated parole and probation, and has been arrested 88 times since the bail law went into effect. At least six of those top 10 criminals are out on the streets right now.
These issues aren’t just limited to the Big Apple. Upstate Rochester has seen a 26% increase in fatal shootings. Shooting victims are up 26% in Syracuse. Even smaller cities, such as Binghamton and Troy, have seen a surge in shootings and homicides. The district attorney in Albany, the state’s capital, has urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to bring lawmakers back to address crime. Hochul said it could wait until January.
Therein lies the problem. Crime isn’t urgent for Hochul or the Democrats who make up the state’s legislative majority. They don’t care if shootings or stabbings or car thefts are rising up and down the state, or that repeat criminals are competing on the leader boards for the most arrests. With their bail reform law and overall nonchalant attitude toward crime, New York Democrats have emboldened criminals up and down the state, and they couldn’t care less about the fallout.
