Republican Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami claimed on Sunday that the nation’s cities and counties with no cash bail laws are fueling an increase in crime.
Suarez, who also holds the office of President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, stated that bail reform has led to “lawlessness” on a panel of mayors from significant cities that appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. According to him, increased crimes like petty theft and damage to the economy have resulted from the lack of harsh punishment for offenders.
Suarez stated, “What I’m focusing on is the fact that no cash bail is causing disorder in many of our cities. “For instance, people are being released quickly; they aren’t even required to post bond, you know. As a result, they can leave immediately. And so, for example, we see someone break into a CVS and steal thousands of dollars worth of goods, forcing the store to close and harming the rest of the community. However, this has little to do with the problem of gun violence. It is more closely tied to the small-time criminality that is causing chaos in several of our cities.
Suarez also praised the way that Miami is policed. He declared, “We are paying for our cops.” “The push to defund the police was impacted by several cities. And it appears that the problem of funding for the police is cross-party.
Due to Houston’s lenient bail laws, some bar and restaurant owners there started sleeping inside their businesses last week in an effort to dissuade thieves.
According to the New York Post, Lindsey Rae, the proprietor of Two-Headed Dog, revealed during a recent city council meeting that she had had 15 burglaries in the previous year. Because of our problems with cash bonds, she continued, “we’re seeing that if they are captured, they are getting re-released.” They could return and rob us once more.
According to an investigation in 2021 by ABC affiliate KTRK, Houston’s bail laws had encouraged more convicts to re-enter society. According to the source, in Harris County court, the defendant was freed on felony bond in 3.5% of instances in 2011; by 2021, however, that number had increased to 18.8% or nearly six times as frequently.
Investigation results revealed that convicts committed more offenses when free on bond. A defendant who was already free on at least one prior felony bond was involved in 3.5% of cases in 2011; by 2021, that percentage had increased to 19%. 968 accused offenders are said to have committed four or more new offenses while being freed on bond in those cases. The investigation by the site revealed that the criminal in one case was free on 13 different bonds.
