With Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg apparently about to charge Trump with a felony for campaign finance violations, what has been the impact Bragg’s unwillingness to prosecute other felonies? A lot more felonies are being committed.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been very reluctant to prosecute most people for felonies, but apparently, former President Trump is different. Compare the last year before the pandemic (2019) with 2022. Under Bragg, the number of felony cases Bragg declined to prosecute increased from 828 to 1,119 — a 35% increase. That explains most of the drop in the conviction rate for felonies from 68% to 51% over that period. And while many felony cases were then handled as misdemeanors (a 33% increase over 2019), the drop in misdemeanor prosecutions was much larger, explaining why the number of misdemeanors resulting in jail sentences fell by 78%. What makes this all the more remarkable is that this huge drop occurred while the number of offenses increased.
From 2021 to 2022, Manhattan’s seven major felony offenses surged by 26%. But there are four other boroughs in New York City, though they have very progressive District Attorneys. From 2021 to 2022, the four other borough’s seven major felony offenses increased by 22%. So felonies increased a little faster for Manhattan than in the other four boroughs.
