Manhattan’s Likely New District Attorney Has Some Truly Radical Pro-Crime Ideas

Alvin Bragg appears to have won the Democratic primary election for Manhattan district attorney, making him the presumptive new leader of one of the most powerful prosecutor’s offices in the nation. Amid surging violence in Gotham, Manhattanites should be hoping that Bragg takes crime ­seriously. {snip}

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But a closer look at Bragg’s proposals tempers this optimism. That he wants the Manhattan DA’s Office to emulate the prosecutors’ offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore and San Francisco should alarm the NYPD and law-abiding citizens.

These are precisely the offices inviting ­violence and disorder in their cities, a veritable Murderers’ Row of prosecutors encouraging murder.

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Digging further into his plans reveals some truly radical proposals. First, Bragg will ­immediately begin de-prosecuting certain offenses, refusing to punish violations of duly ­enacted criminal laws. These ­include resisting arrest, trespassing, fare evasion, marijuana possession, driving with a suspended license and any traffic violation.

Manhattan apparently must accept disorder on the sidewalks, streets and subways; the police must prepare for ­resistance at every arrest.

For those offenses that are prosecuted, Bragg announced plans to allow just about every offender to walk free the same day. “Non-incarceration is the outcome for every case, except those with charges of homicide or the death of a victim, a class-B violent felony in which a deadly weapon causes serious physical injury or felony sex offenses,” his campaign materials read. Will offenders who shoot at people and miss, armed robbers who display a gun but don’t fire it, drug dealers and felons in possession of firearms all be ­released the same day they are arrested?

Even more alarming, Bragg proposes virtually the same non-incarceration path for both bail and criminal convictions. Thus, these offenders will walk out of jail the same day they are arrested and apparently will never return.

Bragg tops off these detailed proposals with the usual progressive mantra of ending mass incarceration, racial disparities and police misconduct. He also pledges to hire as a member of his senior staff a public defender who “will oversee implementation of new policies relating to declination and diversion, alternatives to incarceration, reentry and restorative justice.”

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