Beginning in the fall, petty crimes in metro will no longer be considered by court in Manhattan. On Friday said district attorney Cyrus Vance.
Theft of services, or trivial drive «a hare», is a petty offense class A. under this article passes most of the hearing in criminal court in Manhattan: only in 2016, was arrested nearly 10,000 people.
Vance said that the prosecution for these minor non-violent crimes is not included in the scope of «reformed justice system of the XXI century».
«In the absence of a clear threat to public safety, criminal punishment of the people of new York, charged with violation of this article shall not make the city less dangerous place. Since 2010, my team together with the police Department and the Office for criminal justice in the mayor’s office is working to repeal criminal responsibility of dozens of people with low incomes, which filled our criminal court and regularly replenish the number of inmates in prisons in the area.»
Violators who put forward these accusations will either have to pay a fine, or to agree to a pretrial settlement of the issue.
Currently for minor offenses class A violators face imprisonment of up to 1 year, which leads to the fact that the person put on criminal records.
The move is part of reforms of the justice system aimed at ending the prosecution of offenders who have committed petty crimes. In the district attorney’s office reported that in Manhattan for a year is approximately 20,000 such violations.
Officials hope that this strategy will reduce the number of arrests without warrant, which in turn will help to reduce the number of prisoners in Rikers, to reduce the risk of deportation, loss of work and housing, and hence the overall level of crimes committed.
Vance said that if the authorities do not have to bother with our petty offenders, as fans of ticketless travel, they will be able to focus their attention on more serious matters, for example, cases of domestic violence or a DUI.
Nonprofit organization Legal Aid Society, providing legal assistance to the population, encourages the authorities of other areas of new York to resort to such practices, saying that the chance of a person a second chance should not depend on which area he resides.
A set of initiatives, published on Friday, also contains a programme for removal from the system of criminal courts, in which offenders over the age of 18 who have committed minor non-violent crime for the first time, can avoid punishment. Their cases will be considered at the public hearing.
Another program will allow drug-addicted criminals who have not committed serious crimes, rather than criminal punishment to undergo a course of treatment from addiction.
