The impact of the new criminal justice reform laws set to
begin on January 1, 2020 will affect every law enforcement agency across the
state. For the Allegany County Sheriff’s
Office the biggest impact will potentially be a dramatic decrease in the local
jail population. It seems in Albany that
there is a belief that we in western NY are putting people in jail for no good
reason, which is far from the truth. It has been my experience that our local
magistrates only set bail when it is necessary to make sure the defendant
appears in court, is a danger to society or is in need of some form of
intervention. As society has evolved so has the criminal justice system, at the
sheriff’s office we have put resources and training in place trying to help
those who become entangled with the local criminal justice system and often a
brief stay at the jail may be a lifesaving event. It is not uncommon for us to
receive an individual who, driven by an addiction fueled criminal act, arrives
in our facility in an intoxicated or drug impaired condition. Here they are
seen by medical and mental health staff, safely detoxed and often linked with
services that may be able to help them once they are released from custody.
Under the new laws these individuals are going to be released back onto our
streets immediately with no help or intervention. They may be required to seek
pretrial release services on their own, but likely not until the next business
day, so rather than our office being able to intervene in a crisis and offer
help, these individuals will be released with the hope they seek services on
their own. Realistically, I can see a significant rise in crime and overdoses
after these laws go into effect. Once again the extreme downstate liberals have
passed ill-advised laws that will do exactly the opposite of what they
intended.
