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NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell ventured to Albany on Monday to push for tougher criminal justice reforms, the department said.
“The police commissioner is meeting with as many legislators as possible, including leadership,” said a source with New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office, adding that some of Hizzoner’s aides were accompanying his commish.
Controversial state reforms prohibit judges from setting bail on misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, taking away judicial discretion.
“I’m sure they’re pushing for judicial authority,” a high-ranking police official said of the commissioner and her entourage, adding that the effort would include seeking an “expanded list of crimes that are bail-eligible, expanded authority for judges to set bail in extenuating circumstances or when a perp has a significantly related record and commits a non-bail offense.”
Sewell was not set to meet with Gov. Kathy Hochul but instead was talking to some of her senior aides, the City Hall source said.
The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment on the commissioner’s schedule.
Adams has been calling for tougher bail laws that take into consideration a defendant’s criminal history and potential danger to the community — but he must rely on state lawmakers to tweak the controversial law.
“I gave my blueprint to Albany. I don’t control Albany,” the mayor said last week. “I’m happy to see the governor has embraced some of the things that I raised in the blueprint … but they have to make a determination.”
As first reported by The Post, Hochul proposed minor changes to the criminal justice reform legislation in a 10-point memo earlier this month.
The governor’s proposal calls for judges to have the power to set bail on some crimes based on a suspect’s criminal history — with a particular focus on gun offenses.
Critics contend Hochul’s plan doesn’t go far enough.
Sewell’s visit to Albany comes on the same day a newly released Siena College poll revealed that a majority of New Yorkers gave a thumbs down to the 2019 reforms.
A total of 56 percent of voters polled said the reforms were bad for the Empire State, and nearly two-thirds said the move led to a spike in crime in the state.
Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan
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