New Yorkers should expect the return of the “bad old days” because new District Attorney Alvin Bragg is, apparently, pro-crime.
The New York Post reports that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg set out new progressive policies. According to Bragg’s “Day One” memo, his office “will not seek a carceral sentence” except for specific crimes. Criminals convicted of homicides, selected violent felonies, some sex crimes and public corruption face jail time. Bragg’s directives downgrades all other criminal prosecutions to lower-level offenses, including misdemeanors.
Among the other changes, Assistant DAs must mind the “impacts of incarceration.” This includes considering how how jail time will create barriers to a criminal’s housing and employment, as well as racial disparities, among other things. Bragg also capped the maximum sentence that a prosecutor can request to 20 years.
Here’s some more highlights from Bragg’s memo:
- Prosecutors will charge robbers armed with guns with only misdemeanor petty larceny instead of a felony carrying a 25 year sentence, so long as no one is injured in the robbery;
- Prosecutors will only charge convicted criminals caught with weapons other than guns with a misdemeanor as well. instead of a felony carrying a 7 year sentence; and
- Low level drug dealers also get misdemeanors;
As you could imagine, police officials are none too happy.
“Bragg gives criminals the roadmap to freedom from prosecution and control of our streets,” said the head of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association.
“In Bragg’s Manhattan, you can resist arrest, deal drugs, obstruct arrests, and even carry a gun and get away with it,” DEA president Paul DiGiacomo said in a prepared statement.
Our Take…
The word is out: It’s open season in the “People’s Republic of” New York City for criminals and thugs. This is the exact opposite of the “broken windows” policy that brought Gotham out of the clutches of crime. By targeting minor crimes, police come in contact with serious criminals more often and can prevent more serious criminal activity.
Bragg is turning away from decades of effective policing in the name of wokeness. This is nothing new for NYC. Think back to AOC’s ramblings in justifying slashing the NYPD’s budget.
All progressives like AOC and Bragg do is increase the likelihood that more citizens will become victims who will never see justice. Vulnerable people living in minority communities will be especially at risk. The elderly, the infirmed and the weak will be the prey once again. There is no virtue in Bragg’s signal to wrongdoers.
Bragg’s buffoonery here is multi-faceted. His ambitions in pushing a progressive agenda puts his politics before public safety. That makes Bragg a dangerous political narcissist.
Let’s hope that not too many New Yorkers suffer for his vanity.
