The Wrong Reforms
New York City just inaugurated a new mayor, Eric Adams, a former cop who ran on a law-and-order platform. Literally days after Adams took his oath of office, the new Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, plunged a stake into the heart of Adams' L-and-O aspirations with a memo announcing his intent not to prosecute, or to diminish to misdemeanor status, a laundry list of crimes.
Real crimes.
Not the bullshit quality of life offenses that have turned poor neighborhoods into revenue sources for already-bloated and rapacious government.
And, not a word about the good reforms I've so often discussed: the just-mentioned policing for profit, the scrubbing of useless nuisance laws, the addressing of the blue-wall protection of bad cops.
In other words, give benefit to actual criminals, to those who actually violate the rights of others, without addressing the politically-fostered matters that create the friction between police and communities.
the DA’s office will "not seek carceral sentence other than for homicide" or "class B violent felony in which a deadly weapon causes serious injury, domestic violence felonies" with some exceptions in "extraordinary circumstances."
In other words, if your mugger doesn't seriously injure you while taking your wallet, your carjacker merely pulls you out of the car rather than throwing you in front of a bus, or your home invader doesn't beat you with a club while stealing your jewelry, he's getting a wrist-slap at best.
"decriminalization/non prosecution" for crimes including marijuana possession, turnstile jumping, trespassing, resisting arrest, interfering with an arrest and prostitution.
Last I checked, pot was legal in New York, so the first is, pardon me, a smokescreen. Turnstile jumping is a theft-of-service, no matter that it's against the MTA and not a private business, which makes it a prosecutable crime. Trespassing is a violation of someone's property rights.
Decriminalizing resisting/interfering with arrest is an invitation to anarchy. If a perp can punch a cop with impunity, what do they think is going to happen?
About the only "positive" is the decriminalization of prostitution (finally, the body-autonomy crowd shows an iota of consistency), but barring actual legalization, it'll remain a black-market activity, with all the risks and down sides that produces.
This "softening" on crime is a head-scratcher given the results of similar policies in other big cities - unless we accept that ideology matters more than duty to public safety. A prosecutor is elected to prosecute crime. It is up to the legislature to specify what is criminal. It is up to the voters to populate the legislature. And, at the city level, the voters' intent is reflected in the choice of mayor, that choice being for law-and-order after eight years of DeBlasihell.
This new policy from Bragg, if not big-footed by Adams in the interim, may intermingle with an upcoming Supreme Court ruling to create a Diet-Coke-and-Mentos moment. New York's notoriously restrictive (and corrupt) pistol licensing system may get kiboshed later this year, and recent history suggests a deluge of applications by those looking to arm themselves for self-defense purposes.
Will Bragg look favorably on those who protect themselves against the crime wave he's about to unleash? Or will the criminals get prioritized over citizens engaging in lawful self-defense?
Nothing good will come of these "reforms," and when the inevitable pendulum-swing backlash occurs, the good reforms will again be forgotten.