NEW YORK, NY – The wave of violent crime sweeping New York City isn’t getting any better, and New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg isn’t helping the matter. Bragg reported on the city’s District Attorney website this week that in 2022, his office has successfully downgraded 52% of all violent felony cases to misdemeanor crimes.
That means criminals in New York City are literally getting away with violent crime. In 2019, the rate was 39%.
It was no accident, either. Bragg campaigned on criminal justice reform and directed his prosecutors to downgrade felony charges against criminals and to keep criminals out of jail.
This year, crime is up 27.6% in New York City as violent subway attacks, armed robbery, carjacking, and shootings are all on the rise.
Overall, in the city, the murder rate is slightly down, but felony assaults are up nearly 15%. Many of those violent offenders are now being convicted of simple misdemeanor crimes and don’t serve jail time.
Critics of Bragg’s policies say his efforts diminish the effectiveness of police work in the city and encourage repeat offenders to commit future crimes.
“Police officers don’t want to be sent out to enforce laws that the district attorneys won’t prosecute. And there are already too many people who believe that they can commit crimes, resisting arrest, interfering with police officers, and face zero consequences,” said NYPD PBA President Patrick Lynch.