We all know it: Bail reform, defunding police have failed New Yorkers (opinion)

The tide is turning, the pendulum is swinging back, and public opinion in New York City is seemingly returning to the side of the NYPD and law and order.

When I ran for mayor in 2017, I warned New Yorkers that de Blasio’s far-left policies would lead to a decreased quality of life in our city. Since then, it’s only been exacerbated by left-leaning elected officials running the show at City Hall and in Albany who have experimented with ill-conceived policies that have resulted in skyrocketing crime and put law-abiding citizens at risk. The experiment has failed. And, sadly, New Yorkers are paying the price – some, unfortunately, with their lives.

Now, the initial results of New York City’s mayoral primary show members of both parties have had enough and want law and order restored. In fact, results from a recent survey show seven in 10 Democratic voters in New York City favor an increased law enforcement presence, with 77% of African American Democratic primary voters and 69% of Latino Democratic primary voters calling for more uniformed police officers in the subway.

If you take a look at NYPD data, you can clearly understand why. Nearly every single category of crime in New York City has surged over the past year, with the overall index crime rising 22% in May 2021 compared to May 2020. Over the past year alone, shootings are up by roughly 50% here on Staten Island and across the city. This is on top of a 97% increase from 2019 to 2020. Last year, murders also rose by 45% and continue to rise today.

According to police data, African American and Latino individuals are most frequently the targets of these violent crimes; they are the victims of 97% of New York City shootings, 91% of murders, 80% of felony assaults and 75% of rapes. The slogan “Black Lives Matter” rings hollow when you see the hard cold facts in the NYPD Crime Statistics

As someone who’s focused on restoring public safety in our communities, I was proud to host the House Committee on Homeland Security in New York City to meet with top law enforcement officials and the leadership of the police unions. During this meeting, we heard about the challenges our police are facing today, including rising rates of violent crime, resource management and officer retention in New York City. For them, cutting $1 billion from their budget has led to 500 fewer detectives solving crimes, a 75% increase in retirements, and the elimination of the plainclothes unit.

On top of budget cuts, Governor Cuomo’s botched experiment in bail reform has deconstructed our criminal justice system, releasing dangerous repeat offenders from jail who then wreak havoc on our city. Because of bail reform, 50% of criminals who were arrested for a shooting are released back on to our streets as are 9 of 10 perps arrested for possessing illegal firearms. Law enforcement has warned that if the current trend continues and the radical and deadly bail reform policies are not fixed, 1,000 more people will be shot in New York City by the time the state legislature resumes session in January.

If we are going to restore law and order and quality of life in this city, all these ridiculous policies must be repealed.

Earlier this month, a homeless career criminal was charged with assault as a hate crime for brutally attacking an Asian woman outside a Chinatown restaurant; he had 40 prior arrests. And in May, an unprovoked 30-year-old man threw a 20-pound suitcase at a 2-year-old girl in Lower Manhattan – he had been previously arrested 69 times. The officers patrolling our streets will be the first to tell you that this revolving-door criminal justice system is placing New Yorkers at risk.

In May, I wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for federal law enforcement agencies and assets to aid the NYPD in ending the violence on our streets. Thankfully, the federal government appears to have listened to our calls and decided to step in, through both embedding federal agents within the NYPD to find illegal guns, enacting a strike force to quickly act on information to stop the flow of illegal guns into our city, and increased federal prosecution of dangerous criminals.

At this point, the best thing Mayor de Blasio can do is get out of the way, untie the hands of the NYPD, and just allow our police do their jobs until a new mayor steps in.

It’s refreshing to see that people of all races and political stripes are finally making their demands for more law and order and an increased police presence on our streets loud and clear. Perhaps this is a sign that we’ve turned a corner. New York City’s comeback won’t be an easy one, we must stand together in support of law, order and the men and women of the NYPD. We must push back against the radicals in the New York City Council and the state legislature.

As a newly appointed member of the House Republicans’ American Security Task Force, I will continue to focus on supporting our men and women in law enforcement and stopping these policies that have been so destructive to New York from being implemented at the federal level. As your Congresswoman, I will remain a vocal advocate in support of the NYPD and the commonsense policies needed to restore New York’s standing as the safest big city in America.