Local law enforcement and judicial officials in the Bronx point to the recent uptick in crime borough wide as a sign that aspects of the newly implemented criminal justice reform is making it harder to keep communities safe, following a position repeated from high-ranking NYPD officials.

So far this year, the 52nd Precinct has experienced a 113 percent increase in robberies so far this year, 55 percent more grand larcenies, and a 250 percent rise in car break-ins so far this year. Rapes has also risen by 200 percent.

Notably, the murder rate remains the same as last year with zero.

The upward trend in crime within the 52nd started during the second half of last year according to Deputy Inspector Thomas Alps.  And he criticizes two changes as hampering their efforts to fight back effectively in 2020.

The two measures are bail reform for low-level offenders and new discovery rules which demands prosecutors share their evidence with the defendant’s legal team within 15 days of arraignment.

At the last 52nd Precinct Community Council meeting on Jan. 23, Alps told guests that the 15-day turnaround was challenging his command in preparing all the paperwork that the district attorney’s office needs to prepare a case.  “It’s a burden on us, the Police Department. It’s straining the Police Department’s resources, and it’s taking a lot of time and energy,” Alps said.

Law enforcement officials are concerned that officers will be so tied up with paperwork and electronic communications during the discovery process that their work fighting crime on the street will be scaled back.

James Brennan, deputy chief of trial division in the Bronx, admits that under the new guidelines prosecutors have to collect a lot of information in a shorter time period before sharing it with the defense team.  “The challenge is to get the information from the Police Department, to then analyze it to determine whether we have to disclose it and to make that disclosure,” said Brennan.

Among the information to be shared are photographs, medical records, videos, contact information from witnesses, and grand jury testimony.  “We have a much bigger universe of information that we have to get, and we have to get it over to the defense in a much sooner time,” Brennan said.

The blowback on bail reform has led to a wave of criticism lodged by law enforcement institutions across the city. Those arguments have been heard by state Democrats, who passed bail reform during the last legislative session, arguing that bail often penalizes the poor and is used as a proxy to keep the accused in jail as their case lumbers through the system.

Overall, officials like Alps and Brennan agree that criminal justice reform was and continues needing attention. But they also worry about the long-term impact of some changes to bail procedures where low-level criminals can be out on the street quickly.

“We [NYPD] are for it [criminal justice reform], but we have concerns,” Alps said.  “The other day we had an individual come in through the command that had 176 arrests … We have concerns that we’re going to be releasing these individuals back out quickly [because of no bail requirement],” Alps said.

As Alps reflects on the rise of crime in the 52nd he dismisses any ideas of leaving his command though.  “I’m disappointed that we lost the year,” said Alps, referencing to an increased crime rate in 2019.

“I never thought that I’d lose a year. … I have no plans of leaving in 2020, I want finish 2020 because I want to do better,” Alps said.