New York City DA Bragg downgrades over half of felonies to misdemeanors
New York City DA Alvin Bragg posted reports on his website showing he reduced 52% of all felony charges to misdemeanors.
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New York City’s district attorney downgraded 52% of all felony cases so far in 2022 to misdemeanors, compared to the 39% downgraded in 2019, according to data posted the DA’s website.
In 2021, District Attorney Alvin Bragg ran on a campaign in favor of criminal justice reform, promising to uphold changes to the law that allows cash bail for violent crimes.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Bragg won his campaign and took office on Jan. 1, and just days later, he released a "Day One" memo to staff directing them to downgrade certain felonies, including armed robberies of commercial businesses, and to no longer seek jail time for many serious offenses.
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New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell, at the time, wrote in a leaked email that Bragg’s policies could endanger the public and undermine justice for victims.
The NYPD’s latest crime statistic reports show that overall crimes are up 27.6%, with 112,755 reported so far in 2022 compared to 88,394 reported during the same period in 2021.
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FILE - Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney, speaks with supporters on election night in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
During the same period, there was a reported 13.2% increase in felony assaults, with a jump from 20,563 to 23,270 this year; rapes increased from 1,336 to 1,471; robberies from 12,033 to 15,639; and transit crimes from 1,316 to 1,865.
Murders in the Big Apple are down from 432 to 372, and shootings are down from 1,688 to 1,438.
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Bragg, according to data on his website, and his department declined to prosecute 35% more felony cases than in 2019, factoring in the court system’s delays in prosecuting cases from 2020-22.
The DA’s report also shows bail was requested for 2,518 felony cases so far in 2022, compared to 3,848, in 2019.
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The latest statistics come as crime continues to surge in New York City.