Since Bail Reform Began in NYC, Just 10 Career Criminals Make Up Nearly 500 Arrests in the City
A small group of just 10 career criminals was allowed to run amok across the Big Apple and rack up nearly 500 arrests after New York enacted its controversial bail reform law — and most of them are still out on the streets, The Post has learned.
Stunning statistics compiled by the NYPD, and obtained first by The Post, show that the city’s alleged “worst of the worst” repeat offenders have been busted a total of 485 times since bail reform went into effect in 2020.
Two of the defendants are actually accused of embarking on lives of crime in the wake of bail reform, with one busted 33 times since 2020 and the other busted 22 times, all this year, the data shows.
Mayor Eric Adams — who’s been demanding that state legislators roll back the bail-reform law to crack down on repeat offenders — expressed outrage Wednesday while discussing the findings during an afternoon news conference at One Police Plaza.
“Our criminal justice system is insane,” he said.
“It is dangerous, it is harmful and it’s destroying the fabric of our city.”
Adams added: “Time and time again, our police officers make an arrest, and then the person who is arrested for assault, felonious assaults, robberies and gun possessions, they’re finding themselves back on the street within days– if not hours — after the arrest.”
“And they go on to commit more crimes within weeks, if not days,” Hizzoner fumed.
The NYPD’s list of “notable” career criminals is topped by Harold Gooding, who’s been busted a total of 101 times, with 88 coming since bail reform was enacted.
Larceny charges account for 74 of the recent arrests, all of which took place in Manhattan, where District Attorney Alvin Bragg has come under fire for the soft-on-crime policies he imposed after taking office on Jan. 1.
The career crook has 15 convictions, including three for felonies, and failed to appear in court at least 14 times, leading to the issuance of a “significant” number of bench warrants, according to the NYPD.
Gooding has also violated parole and probation and has two pending prosecutions for thefts from various Target stores on five separate occasions.
“He’s considered a chronic petty larceny, grand larceny recidivist,” NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri said during Wednesday’s news conference.
“He’s hit one location 20 times. The same location, 20 times.”Lipetri added, “And again, we’re talking about arrests here. We’ve arrested that individual 100 times. How many crimes do you think he really committed? Two hundred? Three hundred? A thousand?”“And guess what? He’s walking around the streets of New York City today, probably committing another crime as we speak,” Lipetri said.
Others on the list include a felon whose rap sheet includes convictions for an attempted drug sale and 41 unspecified misdemeanors.
Out of 67 arrests since bail reform began, 49 involve thefts in Manhattan.
Another accused “high volume offender” has been busted 55 times since 2020, with 47 alleged incidents taking place in Manhattan and 18 pending prosecutions involving commercial retail burglaries and thefts.
The defendant with 33 arrests since bail reform began racked up 17 of them in Brooklyn and is now free without bail pending sentencing for “multiple violent felony pleas,” according to the NYPD’s disturbing data.
Another alleged recidivist has 87 total arrests and 25 since bail reform, including 21 in Brooklyn.
That crook, who has convictions for two felonies and 18 misdemeanors, is free pending sentencing in three burglary and robbery cases.
Adams said the NYPD figures put the lie to claims that bail reform wouldn’t lead to increases in recidivism.
“As a result of this insane, broken system, our recidivism rates have skyrocketed,” he said.
“And those who say that the predicted wave of recidivism wouldn’t happen, and the studies that claim to show that the rate of arrest for violent felonies has not changed since the reforms were passed, I have one word for you: Wrong. You are wrong.”
In response, the Legal Aid Society issued a statement citing one of those studies.
“The numbers don’t lie, and last week, multiple outlets reported on data released by the New York State Office of Court Administration showing that bail reform has had little impact on recidivism and as an overall driver of crime, despite the repeated attempts by this Administration to cherry-pick a handful of cases to misguide New Yorkers and convince them that bail reform is responsible for all of society’s ills,” the statement said.
At least six of the 10 accused “worst of the worst” are roaming the streets, even though eight have had bench warrants issued for failing to appear in court — and one has 10 open warrants, according to the NYPD.
The Post has not been able to independently verify the NYPD data.
When asked why neither City Hall nor the NYPD would publicly release the 10 defendants’ names, Adams blamed city lawyers who raised legal concerns.
“I have to abide by the rules … But the people in public need to see the names and faces of these individuals who are repeatedly creating violence in our communities. But I am restricted by the rules of my council,” he said.
Other figures compiled by the NYPD show that people with three or more arrests for robbery, burglary or larceny in a single year jumped a total of 25.9% from 2019, before bail reform, to this year as of June 30.
For alleged serial shoplifters, the increase was an even greater 36.8%.
The NYPD also updated information exclusively revealed by The Post last week that showed the re-arrest rates of alleged burglars and thieves last year were as high as three times what they were in 2017.
As of July 5, 25.1% of burglary defendants were arrested again within 60 days and charged with a felony this year, up from 23.7% in 2021.
Suspects charged with petit larceny, a misdemeanor, were re-arrested on a more serious felony charge this year at a rate of 21.2%, virtually unchanged from 21.6% last year.
Among alleged auto thieves, this year’s rate is 20%, compared to 21% in 2021, while alleged recidivism by grand larceny defendants dipped slightly, from 19.7% to 16.8%.
During his news conference, Adams rejected Gov. Kathy Hochul’s assertion earlier in the day that tweaks to the bail reform that were passed during the budget-approval process in April put the blame on judges for releasing defendants.
“What we gave judges was the ability to consider the severity of the offense … in weighing whether or not this person should be out in the street or not,” Hochul said during a news conference in Manhattan.
Adams — who favors allowing judges to consider the “dangerousness” posed by defendants — said, “They need to use all of their tools, but they need additional tools … as well.”
Adams also referenced a recent conversation with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), who has steadfastly opposed his efforts to roll back bail reform despite surges in every category of major crime in the city, except murder.
Adams said Heastie “raised his concerns and I shared the information with him.”
“We’re gonna turn over this information and more information,” he added.
“I told him I would turn over some information based on our studies. My chief counsel and Deputy Mayor [for Public Safety Philip] Banks, we meet repeatedly with the district attorneys and show them this data and continue to engage and we’re gonna turn over this package to them as well.”
Adams added: “We want people to see exactly what we’re talking about.”
Heastie responded with a tweet that accused Adams of misstating the facts.
“I’m scratching my head regarding the mayor’s recollection of conversations we’ve had,” he wrote.
“To date, we’ve received no data from the mayor or his team. My most recent exchange with him was about my dismay that he claims to have data that vastly differs from what [the state Department of Criminal Justice Services] and OCA report.
”Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), who also opposes Adams on the issue of bail reform, issued a statement that said, “Everything the Mayor cited is something that we have addressed, especially his concerns regarding repeat offenders and gun offenses.”
Additional reporting by Priscilla DeGregory and Zach Williams
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