New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) claimed to have fixed a wave of crime that affected her state following the passage of a controversial bail reform bill. Hochul blamed the increase in crime on her predecessor, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
The governor made the comments during an interview with a local radio station. According to Hochul, she cited a poll in which a significant number of New Yorkers expressed a desire to leave the state.
“Tell me the city you’re going to, and I can guarantee we have a safer crime rate than you have in those cities: Miami, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, even Salt Lake City and Austin,” she said.
The governor said that New York was “better off” and that state officials needed to continue “working hard to make sure that people stop committing these crimes.”
Hochul specifically cited a bail reform bill signed into law by her predecessor. She cited three sets of reforms to the law, including reallowing bail for some criminal charges.
The governor claimed credit for the changes.
“I had to work through the last session of the legislature, and finally this time, I held the budget up an entire month,” she said.
High crime in blue cities is not an accident, it’s proof things are going according to plan. Remember Alvin Bragg? He's New York City's rogue prosecutor and here’s how he's turning the concrete jungle into a criminal’s playground.@cullystimson pic.twitter.com/XRNorthhwk
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) July 5, 2023
The interview occurred as New York faces some of its worst gun violence in several decades. A man on a moped rode around the Queens borough, shooting random people. The shooting resulted in the death of an 87-year-old man and injuries to three other civilians.
New York City has seen a significant increase over the past five years. Many critics tie the increase in property and violent crime to the 2020 George Floyd riots and Cuomo’s bail reform bill.
Overall crime rates have increased by 34% since 2018. There has been a small decrease in the number of murders so far this year, though there have been significant increases in felony assaults and car thefts.
Overall murder rates have increased by 30% compared to 2023, while car theft has increased by 217%. So far in 2023, crime statistics are up slightly over the previous year.
New York City law enforcement partially tied the increase in car theft to a viral TikTok video.
