NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Mayor Bill de Blasio complained Monday that the "lagging" pace the city's court officials are taking to reopen is encouraging more crime.
"If the court system isn't moving, there is no consequence," he said during his Monday press briefing. "It stops us from ensuring that we have every tool available to fight crime."
Though de Blasio commended the NYPD and court officials for making great strides toward combating gun violence, including prosecuting cases, he bashed courts for not coming back fully.
"The court system as a whole is lagging behind everything else," he said. "It is not operating at all at the levels of 2019 pre-pandemic, even though so much of the rest of our society is coming back full strength."
Compared to the 405 court trials during the first have of 2019, De Blasio said only 18 trial verdicts have taken place during the same time in 2021.
"The city is lagging behind in the very place where we have the biggest challenges that need to be addressed. So, to fight violence, to fight crime, you need to address all crimes ... Ask the experts at NYPD, you can't just focus on the gun offenses, you have to focus on all offenses, and make sure there are consequences, and make sure that people know that if they do something wrong to a fellow New Yorker, something will result," the mayor said.
However, a spokesperson for the state Office of Court Administration told WCBS 880 that de Blasio does not have any understanding of what he is complaining about.
"Yet again, the mayor demonstrates his glaring lack of understanding of the criminal justice process in this state," Lucian Chalfen, a court system spokesperson, said. "His gaslighting rhetoric regarding court operations in an attempt to shift the public safety discussion continues."
Amid increasing COVID-19 infections and ongoing delta variant concerns, the Legal Aid Society argued this month that the August diagnosis of a Manhattan court security lieutenant who imposed COVID-19 rules highlighted the need to stop in-person procedures.
The organization urged court visitors use N95 or KN95 masks, non-essential proceedings to be held virtually and for defendants to be held in well-ventilated areas.
Yet, the court system continues to argue all appropriate safety precautions are being taken with a "full return" that was promoted by the spokesperson Monday.
"The court system has been back at full strength – with all judges and staff fully back in person in the courthouses since May," they said.
Although violent crime has fallen and NYPD statistics shows murders and shooting incidents are up 35% and 100% from 2019, de Blasio said still he wants New Yorkers to feel "outraged" that there is a prosecutorial delay.
"I want you to feel the outrage that so many of us feel when a crime is committed and then there's no action by our court system," he added.