Assemblyman, DAs call for parole and probation reforms
By Thomas Pudney
May 17, 2018
ALBANY — Lawmakers and advocates are pushing for legislative reforms to the parole and probation system in hopes of reducing the state’s prison population.
Legislation proposed by Assemblyman Walter Mosley (D-Brooklyn) coincides with three New York district attorneys — Cy Vance of Manhattan, Eric Gonzalez of Brooklyn and David Soares of Albany County — calling for an end to the overuse of probation and parole.
“The main crux of the legislation is to reduce our population of those incarcerated,” Mosley told POLITICO today. “We have so many people that are in facilities like Rikers Island for some type of probation violation. Our job as elected officials is to be smart about criminal justice reform while also being pragmatic and rational.”
The legislative reforms Mosley plans to introduce would shorten parole and probation terms overall. It would also seek to eliminate arrests without prosecution as a technical violation and require a hearing before jailing someone accused of a technical violation. The measure also would allocate any savings from the restructuring to community programs.
“I welcome these elected District Attorneys who are joining the growing chorus of voices calling for reform to our community corrections practices, including the three elected DAs from New York. Our state currently has one of the highest rates of parole failure in the country,” Mosely said in a joint statement with the Katal Center for Health, Equity and Justice, an advocacy organization pushing criminal justice reforms. “By incentivizing good behavior, preventing re-incarceration for technical violations, and creating a higher threshold for less serious offenses, our state can save money, improve public safety, and reduce unnecessary incarceration in jails and prisons.”