Okay, you made a mistake. You went way too far in some cases trying to protect the poor, downtrodden people committing crimes. You felt the ‘poor’ poor could not make excessive bails, therefore you all but eliminated the power of the local courts to affix bails.
Just about everybody, from drug dealers, killers, sex abusers, domestic violence repeaters, weapons carriers to a host of felony repeaters now get a free ride for their offenses.
Meanwhile, crime has risen, shootings are a daily occurrence, hardly shocking anybody. Meanwhile repeat offenders fail to show up for court dates, sending police on myriad hunts.
In this week’s edition in the Law & Order section, read about good old James (Jamie) Clark. Jamie is waste of space, lifelong thief, who has a rap sheet that seems to go on forever. He supports himself and a host of drug dealers by shoplifting from area stores.
This past week he was arrested while running from police yet again following one of his escapades. Jamie is famous for leading police on foot and vehicle chases after shoplifting.
Jamie was charged with four (4) counts of Failure to Appear on four (4) separate cases of arrests for Petit Larceny.
Jamie was taken to the centralized Wayne County Court, but due to the liberal standards of the ‘poor’ poor, Jamie was AGAIN cut free.
Anybody want to guess what Jamie is doing today?
Then there is the arrest(s) of Michael C. Cline. Mike was arrested by State Police on Friday (6/18) for Failure to Appear in Court on original charges of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree. He was also then arrested by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office for the same thing.
Don’t worry though, ‘poor’ poor Mike was taken to centralized arraignment and, under the new liberal format, released!
Oh, No! What’s this? Michael Cline was arrested on Thursday (6/24) after the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office investigated a suspicious condition.
It seems Mike, along with another man in a vehicle were found with 1.45 pounds of marijuana. ‘Poor’ poor Mike was charged with Criminal Possession of Cannabis in the Third Degree. He was released on an appearance ticket. Hmm, I wonder if he will show up for his court date?
On Thursday, during a long, boring press conference, the temporary Rochester City Police Chief, along with a bunch of local politicians bemoaned the recent rash of shootings and killings in the City. The Chief suggested that perhaps the public and courts should use common sense, instead of the liberal look at criminals.
“The goal here for me is simple,” Chief Herriott Sullivan said during a news conference Thursday, “that when people are arrested for violent gun-type incidents, I want them to stay in jail.”
Then, there is the situation with police. Retirements and resignations are at an all-time high. Most departments find recruiting new officers and troopers extremely difficult.
Seems the current police officers and those considering a career in law enforcement are having second thoughts. Unappreciated by the public, with hands tied by the current pro-criminal legislation, why waste time chasing down the Jamies and Michaels? The paperwork and frustration is overwhelming.
The state legislators screwed up by not working with the police and courts to develop a sound, reasonable police/court reform. Now, we have an uncontrollable situation, only getting worse.
