The general public security insurance policies Gov. Hochul specified by her State of the State speech Tuesday have been probably music to Mayor Adams’ ears, as he has referred to as on Albany to take up a number of of these proposals throughout this yr’s legislative session.
That included Hochul’s vows to roll again a number of the discovery reforms the state enacted in 2020 and make it simpler to involuntarily hospitalize homeless people deemed incapable of taking good care of themselves.
However Hochul didn’t tackle one longstanding Adams precedence in her speech: Bail reform. Whereas acknowledging the issue of recidivism within the prison justice system, Hochul spoke of the necessity to work inside present bail legal guidelines.
An ongoing matter of concern for the mayor, Adams advised Politico simply on Jan. 2 that individuals can preserve “repeatedly” committing crimes “due to” the state’s 2019 reforms, which eradicated money bail for many misdemeanor and non-violent felony fees.
He then advised the outlet his Albany priorities this yr is to push the state to undertake new insurance policies on “bail, discovery, mental health.”
Throughout Tuesday’s speech, which Adams attended, Hochul solely talked about bail as soon as, and it was within the context of using the legal guidelines at the moment on the books, not altering them.
“I want judges statewide to use all the powers under our recent bail law changes to stop the rinse and repeat cycle of offenders being released over and over without consequences only to commit crimes again,” she mentioned.
Mayor Adams attends Gov. Hochul’s 2025 State of the State Handle in Albany. (Mike Groll / Workplace of Governor Kathy Hochul)
After adopting the preliminary reforms in 2019, the state backtracked barely in 2020 and 2023 by giving judges extra discretion in setting money bail.
In a press release praising Hochul’s speech, Adams didn’t point out her lack of bail discuss. He mentioned they each “agree that we must make changes to the criminal justice system to prevent repeat offenders from doing further harm to our communities.”
In feedback Monday at Metropolis Corridor, Adams struck an analogous word. “Recidivism is the issue for me, not bail,” he mentioned.
Queens state Sen. Michael Gianaris, who serves as his chamber’s deputy majority chief, recommended Hochul averted specializing in bail for good cause, saying any makes an attempt to additional undo the 2019 reforms are useless within the water within the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
Gov. Hochul delivers her 2025 State of the State Handle within the Kitty Carlisle Theatre in Albany. (Darren McGee / Workplace of Governor Kathy Hochul)
On different public security fronts in her speech, Hochul absolutely embraced Adams’ viewpoints.
Hochul shared Adams’ push for making it simpler to power folks dwelling on the streets or within the subway system into hospitals, saying she needs to alter the requirements that at the moment dictate when involuntary committal can occur.
Below present guidelines, folks can solely be involuntarily dedicated in the event that they pose an “immediate threat to themselves or others.”
Hochul mentioned the legal guidelines “must be even stronger.”
“And that’s why I’m willing to stand up and say we need to expand involuntary commitment into a hospital to include someone who does not possess the mental capacity to care for themselves such as refusing help with the basics: clothing, food, shelter, medical care,” she mentioned, echoing a proposed modification supported by Adams.
“Now critics will say this criminalizes poverty or homelessness. I say that is flat out wrong.”
Gov. Hochul delivers the 2025 State of the State Handle. (Mike Groll / Workplace of Governor Kathy Hochul)
Hochul additionally echoed Adams’ considerations the invention reforms the state enacted in 2020 — designed to make sure equity for defendants — are having unintended penalties.
The reforms imposed new necessities on prosecutors to show over proof to defendants extra shortly throughout pretrial durations, and supporters have mentioned the outdated system contributed to wrongful convictions, mass incarceration and case delays.
However Hochul argued the reforms are leading to circumstances being dismissed on deadline technicalities. A coverage e book offered by her workplace says she is going to search to alter the present legislation in order that “a discovery error is addressed in a manner proportional to the discovery error itself rather than as a technical mechanism to have an entire case dismissed.”
Within the enviornment of public security, Hochul additionally mentioned she’s going to fund the deployment of a police officer on each subway practice in NYC in a single day for a minimum of six months.
The Authorized Support Society, the general public defender group that supported the state’s 2019 and 2020 reforms, slammed Hochul for backing Adams’ discovery and involuntary dedication priorities.
“Waiting for those with serious mental illness to reach a breaking point, forcibly hospitalizing and medicating them, and then releasing them back into the community only to repeat the cycle fails to address public safety or meet the needs of people with mental illness,” the group mentioned in a press release.
“Instead, as the governor also suggests, we should increase access to outpatient services and invest in models like Assertive Community Treatment teams, which meet people where they are and provide direct support.”
Initially Printed: January 14, 2025 at 5:51 PM EST
