BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Cash bail reforms remain a concern for law enforcement, who feel they didn't have a voice in Albany when the legislature passed the criminal justice reform measure last year.
Cash bail was eliminated on January 1 for most people accused of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. The reform also requires prosecutors to disclose all evidence to the defense within 15 days of an alleged crime.
Former Niagara County Sheriff Jim Voutour and multiple other members of local law enforcement voiced their concerns about the reforms in November, arguing that there are some offenses where bail should be required. For example, he said someone who sells heroin to high school children would not have to post bail because they were arrested on a non-violent felony.
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"Under the new law, he will be arraigned and released on an appearance ticket," Voutour said.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said that the problems with the reform depend on how you perceive it.
"For the past year now, I've been telling my assistant DA's not to ask for bail on misdemeanors and non-violent felonies unless there is a darn good reason," Flynn said. "What has happened in the past year, year-and-a-half, is that we've seen a dramatic decrease in the population of folks who are incarcerated on bail awaiting trial. Back in the summer of 2018, we had approximately 1,000 individuals who were on bail and awaiting trial...On December 1, we had a little over 500."
While he said the reform measures aren't perfect, he's largely in support of it. He said some things need to be tweaked, such as certain drug felonies, burglaries, and domestic violence.
"They need to be tightened up a little bit," Flynn said. "There are a number of specific penal law violations that I think should be added to the list where the judge has the ability to set bail on. I think that, overall, I don't think we're going to see the significant amount of problems that some people say we're going to see."
Flynn hopes that he and fellow district attorneys will have a larger seat at the table in 2020.
"We have to have (Albany think our mindset is not) blowing this all up," Flynn said. "We don't want to blow it all up. We want to make changes that are for the betterment of society and for the public safety of victims. That's all we want to do."
Attorney General Letitia James said that the state legislature passed the reforms without giving law enforcement the proper staffing needed for the 15-day discovery window. She hopes the legislature will revisit that issue in 2020.