Nassau arrests still below pre-pandemic levels while re-arrests fall

                                                                               

From Nassau County

                                                                                 

                                                                                 
Total arrests in Nassau County climbed back up for  the first three months of this year but are still below pre-pandemic levels, according to a police bail reform crime report.

But re-arrests of those suspects released without bail are down sharply.

The drop in rearrests could mean that more alleged offenders have decided to follow the straight and narrow. It could mean that freezing temperatures in January and February kept alleged criminals at home. Or it might mean that police have become more wary of picking up re-offenders after calls for reform after the George Floyd death last May.

Whatever the reason, Nassau police made 3,111 arrests in the first quarter of this year, compared to 3,516 arrests made during the same mostly pre-pandemic period last year. Remember, Gov. Andrew Cuomo locked down the state the third week in March of last year. 

Of this year's arrests, 2,677 were released without bail and only 123 were rearrested -- a 4.6 percent rearrest rate.

Last year, in the first three months, 3,010 suspects were released without bail and 295 were rearrested -- or nearly 10 percent were rearrested.

The Nassau County legislature last year voted to require quarterly reports about arrests and rearrests after new bail reform laws took effect in January.

The bail reform laws, passed in 2019 by the then-new Democratic majority in Albany, were intended to prevent poor people charged with non-violent crimes from languishing in jail because they couldn't afford to post a token amount of bail.

But early results showed that all but the most violent suspects were being released,  with some back on the streets within hours of arrest, allegedly committing more crimes. 

Then the pandemic hit in March followed in June by protests against police and calls for reform after the Floyd death. Shootings in New York City have skyrocketed over the past year, with 50 recorded just this past weekend.

Nassau statistics showed that arrests last year dropped by more than half in the three months after the lockdown, and slowly inched back up as the economy reopened. There were 2,929 arrests in the last three months of last year, compared to 3,111 in this year's first three months.

During this year's first quarter, there was a change in the top charges against suspects released without bail. Forgery and related acts climbed 335.44 percent.

Arrest for possession of controlled substances remained the top charge.

This year's report also included arrests broken down by gender and race, apparently in response to community calls for police reforms.

Men continue to be arrested at a much higher rate than women, but race does not seem to be a big factor.

The statistics also reported on the top repeat offenders. Number one was a black, 34-year-old woman who was arrested four times on four felonies, followed by a 32-year-old white woman, who was arrested four times on one felony and three misdemeanors. 

The records are below.