Three weeks after the state's bail reform laws went into effect, law enforcement members, district attorneys and state lawmakers are coming together against the changes.
They're worried about repeat offenders and say bail decisions should be left up to judges for now.
"We are continuing to see our communities be at risk,” said Rob Maciol, the Oneida County Sheriff. “We are continuing to see repeat offenders. We are continuing to release people from our facility. We are almost setting them up for failure -- those folks who are being let out with no plan."
The new laws eliminate pretrial detention for anyone charged with a misdemeanor or most non-violent felonies. So, judges have no choice but to let suspects go home until their next court date.
"That's what I think it is - an experiment, but safety is the gamble,” said Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann. “That's what's at risk here. We're already seeing a predictable outcome. They need to redraw these rules. I'm sure there are improvements that could be made, but this is not the right answer."
To protect public safety, they say the bill should be repealed as soon as possible. After that, they are open to revising the bail laws.
"We mentioned judge's discretion,” said Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay. “There's a talk about a point system for judges or maybe putting a dangerous provision in the law that would give the judge's discretion if there's danger as a result."
Many criminal justice advocates say most people are not repeat offenders and this evens the playing field for wealthy and poor suspects.
"I think there's a lot of fear mongering going on,” said Kelly Gonzalez, the deputy director of the Center for Community Alternatives. “I think they're taking individual cases and trying to scare the public. And there are hundreds and hundreds of people who have been released without bail, who return to the community, coming back to court, returning to their jobs, and are not committing new crimes. You don't hear about those."
In the current system, judges can require pretrial supervision or orders of protection. Also, supporters say bail was intended as collateral and not as a way to keep people in jail.
Governor Cuomo said he is open to bail reform changes.