The lesson of NYC crime dropping is that ‘no bail’ is a terrible mistake
New York City crime decreased by 9.5% in April 2026 compared to the previous year, according to NYPD data, with murders at a historic low. However, the article argues that comparing recent data to 2019, when bail reform began, reveals a significant increase in most major crimes. The author contends that bail reform has led to higher felony rates and warns against further criminal justice reforms.
- ▪Crime in NYC dropped 9.5% overall in April 2026 compared to April 2025, with murders down 14% since April 2019.
- ▪Since bail reform took effect in 2019, robberies have increased 8.8%, grand larcenies 9.4%, felony assaults 50%, and auto thefts 171%.
- ▪The city jail population dropped from 7,800 in 2019 to 4,000 in April 2020, then rose to about 6,600 by 2026 as repeat offenders were increasingly detained.
- ▪The author estimates that nearly 100,000 fewer New Yorkers would have been crime victims from 2020 to 2024 if pre-2019 crime rates had held.
- ▪Mayor Mamdani and the City Council aim to reduce jail capacity by 2,200 inmates to close Rikers Island, despite concerns about rising crime.
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Opinion The lesson of NYC crime dropping is that ‘no bail’ is a terrible mistake By Jim Quinn Published May 4, 2026, 10:53 p.m. ET Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch released new crime statistics indicating that, compared to last April, crime in New York City last month was down 9.5% overall. Matthew McDermott for NY Post Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch released new crime statistics indicating that, compared to last April, crime in New York City last month was down 9.5% overall. That is very good news, and kudos are due to her and to the men and women of the NYPD. But before we start popping the champagne corks, we have to understand that comparing statistics year over year obscures the real crime story in NYC.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at New York Post.
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