Politicians and local law enforcement united for improved public safety legislation
A weekly COLUMN by NY State Senator Tom O’Mara
New York State continues to hold a tight grip on far too many titles that no other state would want to go anywhere near, especially worst-in-the-nation tax burdens, economic competitiveness, and outmigration — and consistently near-bottom rankings in affordability.
Here’s another: New York remains the only state in America that refuses to allow courts to consider public safety when making pretrial custody decisions.
It makes no sense. It ignores the rights of crime victims. It disregards overall law and order.
A statewide poll from the Siena Research Institute late last year reported that more than half of New Yorkers, nearly 55%, are very or somewhat concerned that they could be a victim of crime.
The “PROTECT Act” would help change that by creating a judicial risk-assessment tool to help judges determine whether individuals charged with violent crimes should be kept behind bars awaiting trial.
It’s time for New York to join every other state in the nation recognizing this commonsense approach. It’s time to make the PROTECT Act the law of the land here in the Empire State too. Because right now, Albany Democrat bail and discovery reform remains the law of the land and a public policy that just keeps waiting for the next victim, and criminals on the street know it. They know that Albany Democrats have their back. An overriding policy of “no consequences” for far too many bad actors remains in place and innocent, hard-working, law-abiding, responsible New Yorkers remain at risk because of it.
And so, at the start of this final month of the 2026 legislative session, our Senate Republican Conference renewed our call for the approval of the PROTECT Act, legislation (S2282) introduced and sponsored by my Finger Lakes colleague, Senator Pam Helming, which I co-sponsor and strongly support. It would establishe a clear “dangerousness” standard for judges. It would recognize the ongoing mental health crisis in New York State and allow courts to order proper evaluation and treatment for individuals who pose an immediate risk to themselves or others. It targets a policy set in motion in 2019 under then-Governor Andrew Cuomo and continued under Governor Kathy Hochul and an all-Democrat Legislature that enacted far-reaching bail and discovery law reforms.
These so-called reforms have been widely criticized as failures by law enforcement statewide, recognizing that they have had an alarming impact on crime victims and public safety.
In return, law enforcement leaders from throughout our region and across New York State are fully behind the PROTECT Act. In fact, the measure has been developed with direct input from sheriffs, district attorneys, and other law enforcement leaders, as well as community faith leaders.
Our conference held a news conference at the Capitol last week, together with law enforcement, to keep the need for the PROTECT Act on the table.
Among others, we were joined by Steuben County Sheriff James Allard and my former Senate colleague and now Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar.
Sheriff Akshar said, “Not long ago, we joined law enforcement from across our state to stand up and speak out against the inarguable harm to public safety and unforeseen consequences that would be caused by reckless changes to bail reform. Despite our warnings, Albany pushed through these negligent and misguided policies, hamstringing our criminal justice system and creating countless innocent victims of violent crimes from a revolving door of arrest and release. It’s long past time to restore common sense to the judicial system and put the safety of law-abiding citizens before violent criminals.”
Monroe County Sheriff Todd K. Baxter, an outspoken critic of the 2019 bail and discovery reforms, said, “Public safety is not a political issue. Ask yourself: Why don’t New York residents receive the same protections as every other citizen in the nation? Without decisive intervention, repeat offenders will continue to put our communities at risk. The PROTECT Act establishes a clear, consistent dangerousness standard, bringing New York in line with every other state and the federal system while strengthening protections for victims and safeguarding the rights of the accused.”
Ontario County Sheriff David Cirencione added, “Public safety has to be the top priority when courts are making pretrial decisions. Too often, law enforcement is put in the position of arresting the same individuals again and again because the system does not give judges the tools they need to properly assess risk. The PROTECT Act is about closing the gap. It mandates courts to consider whether someone poses a real threat to others, while still ensuring fairness in the process. This is a commonsense step that will help protect our communities and support the work our deputies do every day.”
While many of us agree that changes for fairness to the accused were warranted, the 2019 policies went too far the other way. They have proven unworkable and resulted in thousands of criminal cases being dismissed in some prosecutors’ offices. The impact on crime victims has been profound. The consequences for community safety and security have been equally destructive.
In May 2023, shortly after shepherding through the enactment of a state budget that paid lip service to the need to end New York’s failed No Bail experiment, Governor Hochul declared, “We are done with bail. We accomplished what we needed to do.”
Except that we never have done anything meaningful to fix an exceedingly dangerous law, one that continues to put local law enforcement and local communities at risk.
