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New York State voters want to see the controversial bail law tightened amid concerns about a surge in violent crime, a new poll released Tuesday reveals.
The vast majority of those polled, or 91 percent, said crime was a very serious or somewhat serious problem, according to the Siena College survey.
Of that number, 60 percent said crime is a “very serious” problem while another 31 percent said it’s a “somewhat serious” problem.
The worries about crime cut across all regions and racial groups.
Two-thirds of Blacks and Hispanics and 53 percent of whites also said they were very or at least somewhat worried about being the victim of a crime.
“New Yorkers say crime is a serious problem across the state. More than half of every demographic group say it is a very serious problem and at least 84% of every demographic say it is at least a somewhat serious problem,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of voters agree with New York City Mayor Eric Adams that the controversial bail law needs to be overhauled by giving judges the discretion to detain “dangerous” recidivist felons pending trial for a lesser offense.
Under the current bail law, these defendants are automatically released pending trial if they’re charged with a non-violent felony or misdemeanor crime that exempts them from cash bail consideration or detention.
But Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Democrats who control the state Legislature have resisted Adams’ request to amend the bail law, claiming the data does not warrant a rollback. Adams met with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (Bronx) last week.
The poll question asked: “Three years ago, New York passed a law eliminating monetary bail for people facing misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges. Which of the following two views is closest to yours?
“The so-called bail reform law should be amended to give judges more discretion to keep dangerous criminals off the streets.”
Or, “The law should not be amended to give discretion on bail back to judges because it could once again lead to people of color being disproportionately denied bail
A total of 65 percent of the 803 respondents said the bail law should be amended to take into account a defendant’s prior violent record, while only 27 percent of voters said the law should not be changed, while the rest were undecided.
Voters supported a tougher bail by better than two-to-one margins in all parts of the state — the city, the suburbs and upstate.
Republicans led the charge, with 88 percent of GOPers supporting a stricter bail law.
But 56 percent of Democrats also backed giving judges more discretion to lock up dangerous defendants pre-trial, compared with 35 percent of party members who disagreed.
There was a racial gap, however.
A total of 73 percent of white voters backed a tougher bail law, compared to 21 percent who didn’t.
The results were mixed for Black respondents — with 44 percent supporting more judicial discretion, while 40 percent did not. The rest were undecided.
Similarly, 48 percent of Hispanic voters supported stricter bail requirements while 41 percent did not with the rest not offering an opinion.
On other matters:
—- A majority of New Yorkers — 58 percent — said authorities should wait for early March data before deciding whether to lift the school mask mandate, compared to 30 percent who believe the mask should have ended already with the rest undecided. That’s in line with Hochul’s position.
— Kathy Hochul holds a commanding lead in the Democratic primary for governor, garnering support from 46 percent of party respondents compared to 17 percent for city Public Advocate Jumaane Wiliams and nine percent for Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi.
The Democratic Party leaders nominated Hochul at their convention last week, but Wiliams and Suozzi will petition for voter signatures to get on the ballot and challenge her in a primary.
The Siena College Poll was conducted from February 14-17 among 803 registered voters with 503 voters contacted by mobile or landline phones and 300 responses given via an online panel. It has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
There were 396 Democrats queried for the gubernatorial primary question, with this sample having a margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 percentage points.
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