CHENANGO COUNTY – State Assemblyman Clifford Crouch (R, 22nd District) spoke out against New York State’s recent criminal justice reforms on Tuesday, saying there is an immediate need for revisions to the reforms because the new laws were putting law-abiding citizens in danger.

“I think how it was rolled out is really kind of a travesty; it was done with no input from law enforcement, and the list of crimes that they’ve included is way too much,” said Crouch. “Someone is going to get killed because of it, and we’ve already had people that have been hurt after individuals were released right away.”

“I cringe every morning as we hear more cases of people getting out and hurting the community.”

According to a statement from New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office, the new criminal justice reforms are, “…groundbreaking legislation in the FY 2020 Enacted Budget,” that are “New York’s bail system will be dramatically transformed, significantly reducing the number of people held in jail prior to their trial.”

“Specifically, cash bail will be eliminated for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, alongside a new requirement that police officers must issue desk appearance tickets to most people charged with misdemeanors and Class E felonies, rather than making a custodial arrest,” stated the office. “Together, these reforms will ensure the vast majority - approximately 90 percent - of cases where people are charged, but not yet convicted of a crime, will remain out of jail before their day in court.”

Crouch said these reforms were an opportunity for lawmakers come together with law enforcement and district attorney’s offices around the state, but instead of seeking advice, lawmakers “voted party lines and pushed the reforms out.”

“When you peel away the layers of an onion, it starts to smell more and more,” he said. “We debated these reforms for almost five hours last spring, but the majority just continued forward with what they thought was best.”

He said now the people are paying the price while lawmakers discuss making changes to the reforms.

“We’ve taken away the power from the DA and given the power to the person who has committed the crime,” he added. “We’ve legislatively neutered the judges; we need to give them the ability to do their jobs and use their discretion when handling bail.”

Crouch said one of the points of the reform was to ensure that everyone gets a speedy trial, and that he agrees that everyone is entitled to one.

“The changes to the discovery laws aren’t improving an individual’s right to a speedy trial,” he said. “This is something that I, and my republican colleges were unanimous that we need to change.”

“We’re working on a proposal that would accomplish what we believe they intended to accomplish with the reforms while giving power back to the judges.”

He said currently these reforms are unfunded mandates that cost New York State taxpayers and counties money, and aren’t working to benefit the average person living in the state.

“We still need to have a realistic judicial system that allows prosecutors and law enforcement to protect the people,” he added.