De Blasio again blames court system for crime spike
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Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday again blamed the state court system for a recent spike in crime. Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By David Brand
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday again blamed the state court system for a recent spike in violent crimes — even though courts have been functioning for months.
Four days after he attributed an increase in shootings to the suspension of in-person court proceedings, de Blasio doubled down Monday.
“The bottom line is our criminal justice system needs to get back to full strength,” de Blasio said during a press briefing. “Our courts not only need to reopen, they need to reopen fully as quickly as possible.”
Gun violence has surged in June and July, with shooting incidents up 250 percent in the 28 days before July 19 compared to the same time period last year. At the same time, NYPD officers have been making significantly fewer arrests. Collars were down 62 percent in the 28 days leading up to July 12.
De Blasio on Monday cited a “huge backlog” in criminal cases involving violent crime and said that “only 50 percent of firearms charges have even gotten to the point of indictment.”
“Just a little beginning of the court system won't get it done. We need to find a way to get back to full strength. And there are obvious issues of health and safety — we want to help,” he said.We have a lot of spaces we can make available, personnel to help address the health and safety issues.”
Though trials have been on hold, courts conducted arraignments remotely between mid-March and July 13, when in-person arraignments and hearings resumed. Grand juries have been suspended in New York City but Gov. Andrew Cuomo temporarily lifted defendants’ right to a grand jury within six days. Instead, defendants have been indicted during felony hearings.
Office of Court Administration spokesperson Lucian Chalfen fired back at de Blasio’s assessment of the court system.
“We have been working to reestablish full court operations, including jury trials,” Chalfen said. “While New York City still does not allow indoor dining, the Mayor blithely asks us to call in thousands of people a week Citywide for jury duty.”
“Clearly he has absolutely no understanding of how the criminal justice process works,” he added.
