Former Rockland County D.A. Michael Bongiorno op-eds that crime in rising throughout NYS because of the Rockefeller Drug Law reforms that I and fellow state legislators voted for in 2009.
Mr. Bongiorno fails to prove that the crimes are committed by drug re-offenders. He also fails to mention that crime rates rise during times of economic recession.
I continue to believe that passing and enacting Rockefeller Drug Law reforms was the right course.
Mr. Bongiorno’s OpEd follows:
“Over the past year, from Montauk to Buffalo and just about every place in between, crime, including violent crime,has risen dramatically, reversing a two-decade downward trend.
Crime and violent crime rose 12 percent in 16 of 17 “impact” jurisdictions —high-crime and drug-prone communities outside New York City, led by staggering jumps in violent crime of 40 percent in Newburgh and 30 percent in Yonkers. Buffalo and Rochester saw a near-doubling in the number of shooting victims.
Even New York City has seen a 4 percent rise in crime,with a 20 percent spike in subway crime.
Soaring crime became inevitable once elected officials embarked on a policy of emptying prisons of “nonviolent” felons,especially drug dealers. There are now some 15,000 fewer felons in prison than in 2000,and more than 4,000 fewer than in 2009.
Unsurprisingly, many drug felons have opted not to enter treatment programs,instead taking advantage of shorter sentences to return to the street sooner and continue committing crimes.”
Via http://m.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/why_crime_rising_Q1Op9v5VCRzMKgDFvnfP2L
Do you believe that reforming the Rockefeller Drug Law was right or wrong? Comment as you see fit.
I’d like it if people would cite their sources whenever they write anything for publication. How does a man who trains to become an attorney expect people to take him seriously if he can’t even do that?
As for my feelings on this. What the Rockefeller drug laws did was turn an already adversarial criminal justice system into a ultra predatory one. The reforms were both long overdue and the right start in aiding our society in it’s desire to actively engage a problem that has been poorly handled from the start.
In truth, the only thing that makes such extreme drug laws effective is the extended prison sentences which deprive drug distributors their talent pool. The trade off however is that the criminal returns to society still uneducated, undeveloped, and unprepared for civilian life with few opportunities to regain the privileges of citizenship.
Ex-offenders have their citizenship rights restored in NYS. A certificate of relief from disabilities lifts some employment bars. Education remains the best path to a better life. It’s clearly the best choice for those most at-risk to recidivate.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.