Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has downgraded a staggering 60 percent of felony cases to misdemeanor charges in the past year, data from his office shows.
The progressive prosecutor reduced 938 of the most serious charges in 2023, 834 of which were reduced to misdemeanors.
Under Bragg, the percentage of downgraded felonies has increased to 60, up from 53 percent under his predecessor. Bragg’s team defended the numbers, saying the office’s performance is on par with other New York districts and above when it comes to felony convictions.
Bragg, who campaigned on a promise of criminal justice reform, issued a controversial “day one” memo after taking office stating that he would only seek prison sentences in the most serious cases.
It comes amid fury over criminals being allowed to roam the streets of the Big Apple, which continues to be rocked by a wave of violent crime.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg downgraded 60 percent of his cases from felonies to misdemeanors in 2023, as crime continues to wreak havoc in the Big Apple.
Of the 938 felonies downgraded in 2023, 834 were reduced to misdemeanor charges
The progressive district attorney was sworn in on January 1, 2022, but has been criticized for his ‘soft on crime’ approach.
Since taking office on Jan. 1, 2022, the soft-crime prosecutor has also declined to prosecute 14 percent of all arrests, compared to just nine percent in 2021, when his predecessor was in office. charge for the last time.
However, the total arrests examined by his office increased by more than a third compared to 2021.
But this will be of little comfort to victims of the most serious crimes, as data shows that Bragg’s office has obtained a felony conviction only 52 percent of the time, down from 65 percent in 2021.
Bragg has been criticized for his soft-on-crime policies, which include asking prosecutors to drop felony armed robbery charges and instead charge suspects with petty theft and not seek prison sentences for the criminals.
Crime in New York City has decreased 0.032 percent since before the pandemic, but the decrease is not enough for many who feel unsafe in Manhattan.
MAGA agents have accused Bragg of having a political agenda.
‘Alvin Bragg is a disgrace. “He cares more about attacking Joe Biden’s political opponent than protecting New Yorkers from rapists, murderers and thieves.” said Alex Pfeiffer, spokesperson for Make America Great Again Inc.
Meanwhile, crime victims have also expressed their discontent over the lack of justice.
Joseph Borgen, 31, who was the victim of an anti-Jewish mob attack in Manhattan, sharply criticized the plea deal that allowed one of his attackers to get away with just 18 months behind bars.
Bragg’s opponents accuse him of being soft on crime.
Bragg, who campaigned on a promise of criminal justice reform, said he would only seek prison sentences for the most serious crimes.
Waseem Awawdeh, 24, faced seven years in prison after being filmed beating Borgen with crutches, calling him a “dirty Jew” and spraying him with pepper spray in the 2021 attack.
Borgen struggled to contain his fury as he delivered a victim impact statement at the sentencing of Awawdeh, who was offered the deal despite allegedly boasting that he would “do it again.”
More recently, Bragg has come under fire for allowing men accused of brutally beating two NYPD cops in Times Square last month to walk free.
One of the immigrant gang members accused of the attack was arrested a couple of days later at a Queens shopping center for attempted shoplifting.
Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams has continued to insist that crime in the city is headed in the right direction.
In one of his most recent defenses he stated that New York is not as bad as the infamous Skid Row in Los Angeles.
The first-term mayor made the proud proclamation while touting year-end crime statistics at 1 Police Plaza in January, showing a photo of the remote Los Angeles neighborhood as proof.
A tirade followed, seeming to ignore how his city is in the midst of an unprecedented migrant crisis that, he warned, will soon see asylum seekers “sleeping on the streets.”
Bragg has been criticized for his lenient plea deals, including one offered to Waseem Awawdeh, 24, after he was arrested for an anti-Semitic attack on Joseph Borgen in May 2021.
Joseph Borgen (above) struggled to contain his fury as he delivered a victim impact statement at the sentencing of Waseem Awawdeh, who faced up to seven years in prison but was only sentenced to 18 months under the plea agreement.
Borgen is seen hospitalized on the left, and in an interview a day after the attack on the right
However, he did not mention data showing that crime in his city had decreased by a minuscule 0.032 percent.
Murders this year fell 11.9 percent compared to last, to 386 reported versus 438, the data showed.
Meanwhile, rapes decreased 10.5 percent, while robberies decreased 3.1 percent.
Grand thefts also decreased by 2.5 percent and burglaries by 13.1 percent.
However, motor vehicle theft rates have increased 191 percent since before the pandemic, while felony assaults have increased 6.3 percent.
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office said Manhattan is leading the citywide decline in crime, highlighting a 38 percent decline in homicides and a 24 percent decline in shootings during his first two years in office. of the district attorney.
“Manhattan’s felony conviction rate is higher than the other four boroughs, and our decline rate for felony prosecutions is lower than the citywide average,” he said.
“We are delivering results from our comprehensive crime strategy that includes more firearms prosecutions, focusing on the drivers of violent crime, and making investments that prevent crime and build strong neighborhoods.”