Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R,C-Staten Island/Brooklyn) introduced legislation that would further restore judicial discretion in regard to bail reform by giving judges the authority to request a risk and needs assessment to make a final determination if the individual charged with a felony poses a danger to the community and/or is a flight risk to avoid prosecution (A.5169)/(S.250).

The 2019-20 State Budget eliminated cash bail and pretrial detention for most criminal offenses which has allowed thousands of individuals to reoffend dozens of times imposing more risks to our communities. This legislation was blocked in the Codes Committee this week which means it will not make it to the Assembly floor to be voted on.

“As I have said many times, significant improvements to public safety cannot be made unless we increase judicial discretion. Our current laws allow violent criminals to continue walking our streets while committing new crimes and avoiding prosecution. The changes to bail reform made in this year’s budget do not go nearly far enough to ensure safety in our streets and unless we increase judicial discretion and hold violent criminals accountable, we will continue to see an increase in crime across our city,” said Tannousis.