Here we are in 2023, the "bail reform experiment" has blown up in every major city across our once great nation. My friends and family have moved out of New York State in droves, and those that have stayed avoid Manhattan like the plague it has become.
Major corporations like Target are closing stores and minimum wage paid workers are being viciously attacked across the country. Crime of moral turpitude abounds.
Why?
The answer is tragically kindergarten simple.
Zero consequence for crime, begets crime, emboldening criminal offenders.
The message has been sent, like the shot heard around the world: "Steal, Steal, Steal" 'til your heart's content.
Fake district attorneys won't prosecute you, the Police are no longer allowed to arrest you, and there will be no bail . . . so if you do get caught, no worries you will be released asap.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
So why would Los Angeles implement a "zero bail" policy and expect anything different than the results we see nationally?
We started warning policy makers across the country of the devastation Bail Reform would create right from the start.
For example, in 2019, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., led the Empire State, we expressed grave concerns for the public safety of New York residents, as well as its global visitors.
They didn't listen, they avoided meetings, they hid away without any regard to how this massive debacle would affect their constituents and the economy.
They did what they were told to do "Vote Yes", or else their political careers would essentially be over.
They did so without completely understanding or even reading what the actual Bail Reform bill included.
Government is notorious for hiding really important issues in the body of the budget bill, in fact in New York State it's referred to as "The Big Ugly."
Taxpayers don't know, they are depending on elected officials to do due diligence and know; to read bills, to object to bad policy, to advocate for better public safety policies.
After all, moms and dads are busy working every day to essentially fund the salaries of these policy makers.
Sadly, the majority of the time policy makers in New York State nationally are far more concerned with their political careers than the communities they pledge to represent.
Unfortunately bail reform has changed the moral compass of U.S. society.
Turn on the news and it's all too easy to see.
The term "smash and grab" is now a regular part of our daily discourse.
Moms are now terrified to meet at the malls for a stroll around with their kids for fear of shoplifting gangs. Suraj, a store clerk who tried to stop a shoplifter was just set on fire in set on fire in San Francisco, California.
A 66-year-old Home Depot employee in Gwinnett, Georgia was severely injured, almost fatally, by a group of shoplifters.
And let's not forget about bodega worker Jose Alba who almost died in jail from the stab wounds inflicted by a shoplifter when he was forced to defend himself in New York.
Where is the National Retail Federation (NRF)?
Is their lobbying agenda advocating for stronger laws to protect their employees and consumers?
They should have lobbied alongside the bail industry and law enforcement as we clearly are the experts on these matters.
They didn't, as it wasn't politically popular.
So now, big chains are closing everywhere, leaving hollow graveyards of stores that once employed so many.
Not to mention the smaller stores now left with Zero foot traffic that will be forced to close as a result.
Instead of accepting the reality of this disaster commonly labeled "bail reform," more counties and cities like Los Angeles are adopting it!
How much further down the rabbit hole can we go?
The amount of money that has been pumped into this failed experiment is far too much to quantify.
Bail professionals (bail bondsmen and women) work hard, 24/7 365 days a year nationally.
Our industry operates at zero expense to the taxpayer.
There's a solid reason why judges have relied upon secured bail for over 200 years, because it brings defendants back to court.
We are multi-generational, mom and pop, veteran owned, minority owned, female owned small businesses and we matter to the public safety of all Americans.
Not only do we live in the communities being terrorized, we shop at the stores that are closing but while most of the country is fast asleep.
We are out there risking our lives to return fugitives to custody.
It's due time we are heard before anyone else becomes an innocent casualty of this insanity.
Michelle Esquenazi is president of The National Association of Bail Agents and the president of the New York State Bail Association.
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