Republican gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined state and local leaders Monday in Gates to rally for a "dangerousness standard" in setting bail in New York.
New York is the only state in the nation that does not have a dangerousness standard in its pretrial release decisions. Opponents of the Bail Elimination Act of 2019, a state law that removed cash bail for most non-violent offenses, have seized on the issue. Republicans and law enforcement officials claim the lack of a dangerousness standard has led to a statewide spike in crime, although state data suggests a more complicated picture.
On Monday, Blakeman was joined by state Sen. Pamela Helming, R-Canandaigua, who last session introduced the Pretrial Risk Overview for Threat Evaluation, Custody, and Treatment (PROTECT) Act, which would create a mechanism to hold suspected repeat offenders pretrial. The bill failed to advance to a vote.
If elected, Blakeman said he would include the bill in his first budget proposal.
"It's just a matter of common sense and good judgment that Pam has used, as she has in the past, to come up with this legislation that will remedy a situation that was created by (Gov.) Kathy Hochul and the Democrats in the legislature that have made us less safe," Blakeman said.
Hochul has claimed that judges have the tools they need, and advocates of bail reform – including the Legal Aid Society – have chastised critics for “endless fear mongering, devoid of facts and ungrounded in reality"
The Bail Elimination Act was passed into law as part of the 2019 budget package under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Hochul was serving as lieutenant governor at the time.
Blakeman, Helming, and various law enforcement and Republican political figures argued from the podium that New Yorkers are facing a tidal wave of crime from repeat offenders.
Helming pointed specifically to the case of Abagail Perez, 31, who was stabbed to death by Javier Justice, 21, during an argument last year in northwest Rochester. Justice and Perez were in a relationship, and he had been released on his own recognizance shortly before the killing after being arrested for choking Perez.
"Would the Protect Act have saved Abby's life? I think it would have, but we'll never know for sure," Helming said. "But I'm certain that by passing the Protect Act, we'll help save people's lives in the future."
Data on the state and local level paints a more nuanced picture.
Like much of the country, New York saw a surge in all varieties of crime during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Rochester, for example, shootings struck an all-time high in 2021, when 419 people were shot and 59 killed. That number fell dramatically by 2025, when 162 people were shot and 24 killed. So far this year, 94 people have been shot, and four killed.
Todd Hood, the sheriff of Madison County and Blakeman's candidate for lieutenant governor, said crime statewide is up 26% since 2019, attributing that to state Division of Criminal Justice Services data.
"No matter what they tell you from New York state, they play with the numbers," Hood said. "You can come up with anything with statistics, and that's the real numbers. It's 26%."
A spokesperson for his campaign did not immediately respond to a phone message. WXXI News was unable to reproduce the cited 26% increase.
DCJS data shows New York state saw a 16% increase in all reported crimes between 2019 and 2025, fueled by a spike in larcenies. While aggravated assaults remained elevated, other crime categories, like burglary, were at low points. Homicides, in particular, were at the lowest point in 15 years.
