The NYPD on Thursday blamed the state’s bail reform overhaul for this year’s crime spike — saying that 482 people arrested in 2020 were cut loose only to re-offend.
Those perps were responsible for a total 846 crimes — 299 of which are among the seven “major” felonies tracked by the department — including one murder, NYPD stats show.
Police refused to provide details on the murder Thursday.
But all of the 482 suspects could have landed in jail prior to Jan. 1 when the state’s new bail reform law kicked in and prohibited pretrial detention in most misdemeanors and some nonviolent felonies, the NYPD said.
“Each number presents a victim,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement. “We will continue to work hand-in-hand with New Yorkers and our law enforcement partners to zero in on the drivers of crime and deliver justice for the victims.”
The department has posted increases to reported crimes over the last two months — even as arrests have plummeted.
There were 16,343 major crimes reported in the first two months of 2020, compared to 13,648 over the same period in 2019 — for an increase of 2,695.
The 299 major crimes by bail-reform beneficiaries comprise 10 percent of the spike — and 1.8 percent of the city’s crime for the year.
Separately, police said more cases are being scrapped before they even get to trial than in previous years.
According to the NYPD, Big Apple prosecutors declined to prosecute 803 crimes in January and February — 11 percent of all non-bail-eligible felony arrests made during the period.
Over the same period last year, district attorneys declined to prosecute 527 cases — or 6.7 percent of all non-bail-eligible felony arrests.
“Criminal justice reforms serve as a significant reason New York City has seen this uptick in crime,” the NYPD said in a release.
Police did report a drop in reported murder and rape cases in February for the second-straight month, despite an overall 20-percent jump in the seven major crimes over last year.
The department said it is taking steps to compensate.
Officials said 15 hot spots where street crime has spiked will be targeted for additional attention, including increased car and foot patrols.
Cops currently on administrative assignments will be re-assigned to crime-fighting roles, collecting “overtime as needed,” the release says.
The department will also increase its focus on youth crime, including a “youth forum,” and strategy meetings with city prosecutors, probation officials and the Department of Education.
“We will continue to use precision policing to target enforcement and deepen our work with communities to fight crime,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.