ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — According to the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the rate of felony rearrests dropped since bail reform took effect five years ago. Their analysis into the long-term impacts tracked arrested New Yorkers following their arraignments, comparing rearrest outcomes before and after.
The law eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, meaning mandatory release for those cases. In cases still eligible for bail, the law nonetheless led to less pretrial detention because giving judges got better options for supervised release or electronic monitoring.
The DCJ considered recidivism—a rearrest for any offense, felony, or violent felony offense—to measure the public safety consequences. They found that, over the follow-up period, bail reform was linked with a 2.7% decrease in felony rearrests in the NYC suburbs and upstate.
Stefanik bill would link federal funds to bail reform
Bail reform also reduced recidivism in New York City, lowering rearrest rates across overall, felony, and violent felony offenses. The percentage of people released and who were arrested at least once more was 8.7% lower post-reform, with felony rearrests 6.8% lower and violent felony arrests 5% lower…