5.9k Share this
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday blamed woke progressive policies for the city’s soaring crime rates – as he called for repeat offenders to be locked-up.
In an interview with ABC This Week host George Stephanopoulos, the mayor said former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton was ‘right’ when he said on the Bloomberg Businessweek podcast last week that progressive policies have led to an increase in crime in Democrat-run cities.
He affirmed Bratton’s beliefs after the former commissioner’s comments were read back to him.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Bratton said: ‘The scales right now are tipped very heavily in favor of the reforms of the progressive left.’
Those policies, he noted, are ‘well intended, some needed, but a bit too far, and what we have as a result is this growing fear of crime, this growing actual amount of crime in almost every American city.’
Adams told Stephanopoulos on Sunday that he agreed with Bratton’s assessment, noting that the former commissioner ‘understood what we had to go through from the mid-80s to the early 90s when we had to transform policing.’
Since then, the mayor said ‘major mistakes’ have been made ‘that destroyed the trust that the police commissioner is talking about. We have to rebuild that trust.
‘But we can’t rebuild that trust by allowing those who are dangerous and that have a repeated history of violence to continue to be on our streets,’ an apparent jab at the state’s bail reform laws.
As he spoke, his police commissioner, Keechant Sewell nodded, adding later: ‘We believe the system has to be fair and balanced, but when we lose sight of the victims of crime, we are not doing hat public safety is intended to do.’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday said that he agreed that progressive policies have led to an increase in crime in Democrat-run cities
The mayor was responding to former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, who told the Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast that the ‘reforms of the progressive left’ have led to an increase in crime
Adams was elected last year after vowing to fight the Big Apple’s growing crime problem.
He had vowed to reinstate the NYPD’s controversial anti-crime unit, and has been pushing for state lawmakers to allow judges to consider the ‘dangerousness’ of defendants before deciding to release them under the state’s woke bail reform laws.
Those have been blamed for repeatedly freeing serial criminals onto the street to commit further offenses – including multiple murders.
But state Democratic leadership has repeatedly resisted the mayor’s request, and said they will not act on changing the law, according to the New York Post.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signaled plans to toughen up the act as part of her latest budget, although victims’ advocates say she should go even further.
Adams has said he wants to see changes in bail reform laws and other criminal justice measures, claiming they will bring down crime rates in the city and reduce gun violence.
And since being elected, Adams has fulfilled his promise to reinstate the anti-crime unit, and has deployed 1,000 more officers to the subways.
But crime continues to rise throughout the Big Apple, with the New York Police Department reporting that the crime rate is nearly double what it was at the same time last year.
Rapes in the city are up 17.4 percent compared to the same time last year, and felony assaults are up 19.6 percent, according to NYPD data.
Burglaries and robberies are also up, 31.7 and 48.4 percent, respectively, while grand larcenies have doubled from April of last year and grand larcenies from automobiles are up a whopping 77.2 percent – from 175 reported at this time in 2021 to 248 reported so far in 2022.
Shooting incidents are also up 8.4 percent, with 9.3 percent more victims.
Frantic commuters were seen trying to run for the exits after a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway station on Tuesday morning
One man was seen apparently injured in the shooting as officers and a Good Samaritan tried to help him
Just last week, the city made national headlines when a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway stop.
Prosecutors say Frank James, 62, staged a premeditated attack when he shot ten people and injured others on the northbound N train at around 8.25am on Tuesday during rush hour.
Videos from the scene showed hundreds of commuters frantically running for the exits as shots were fired.
What ensued was a nearly 24-hour long manhunt for James, who was ultimately arrested while strolling down the street on Wednesday.
In court documents the next day, prosecutors detailed how more ammunition was found in James’ rented Philadelphia apartment, including an extended round magazine that was fit for a semi-automatic rifle. No such firearm has been found yet in connection with the suspect.
His 9mm handgun was found at the 36th Street subway station on Tuesday, after the attack, along with spent shell casings, fireworks, and a key to his U-Haul.
Police have also searched a storage unit in Philadelphia, where he was keeping more ammunition, a torch and a gun silencer.
There was a propane gas tank in the U-Haul when police swooped in on it on Tuesday afternoon.
James dumped the truck five miles from the 36th Street subway. He was filmed walking away.
James’ motive remains unknown.
Subway shooting suspect Frank James, 62, was arrested on Wednesday after he was spotted walking down the street amid a citywide manhunt for him
James is being held without bail as investigators look into his hate-filled YouTube videos
James had a criminal history extending back to 1992, when he pleaded guilty to attempted petit larceny and was known to the FBI’s Guardian Program, which tracks terror threats and suspects, over an incident in New Mexico in 2019. At the time, he was cleared of wrongdoing.
But in a YouTube video posted just one day before the attack, James said he wanted to harm people.
‘I can say I wanted to kill people. I wanted to watch people die,’ he said.
Other videos featured James ranting about discrimination and complaining about white people. They are now being closely examined by law enforcement as James is being held without bond.
Mayor Eric Adams has suggested that it was the responsibility of YouTube to monitor the videos and report them – an idea he repeated in the interview on Sunday after Stephanopoulos asked if there needs to be a better way to track potential threats like Frank James, who Stephanopoulos said was ‘hiding in plain sight.’
‘There’s a corporate responsibility hen we are watching hate brew online,’ Adams said. ‘We can identify [hate] using artificial intelligence and other methods to identify those who are talking about violence.’
Sewell also noted that crime was down in the subways compared to pre-pandemic numbers, but added: ‘We recognize that people need to see a visible presence of police in the subway, and we’re endeavoring to make sure that happens.’
Source: Daily Mail
