Republicans Worry About New York Crime Wave
Following indictment of former President Donald trump in New York, a handful of Republicans accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of permitting a crime wave in the city. Earlier this week, members of the House Judiciary Committee even held a hearing.
A Crime Wave in New York?
Committee chairman Representative Jim Jordan, from Ohio believes New York’ has lost its way.’ “Here in Manhattan, the scales of justice are weighed down by politics. For the district attorney justice isn’t blind, it’s about looking for opportunities to advance a political agenda: a radical political agenda.”
Justice is beginning to feel uncommon in New York. Various crime testimonies from survivors see the justice system as awry instead of serving. For example, Josh Alba was a worker at a Harlem store. In February, two customers assaulted him. In defense, he killed one of the attackers, but the system charged him with murder. Those charges eventually dropped, but he says the ordeal is far from over. “I am now traumatized from the incident. I am not working because I am terrified for my life that someone in a gang will come after me for revenge,” Alba says.
Perception and Reality
While Republicans agree with the concerning increase of crime, Democrats believe the efforts should back up other issues. Whether crime is a concern in the city or not, has all kinds of different answers. Fear for New York heading backwards is apparent, but the data shows different statistics. Experts say, the crime wave in the city has in fact been decreasing. Compared to last year, data tells us that citywide murder is down 6.6 percent and shootings are down 23 percent.
In the neighborhood of Queens is where Chris David resides. He is a 50-year old local who worries about the shootings and believes it is worse than in the ’90s. A block down from him is where Lucy Nystrom resides. At 28 years old, she feels very safe and believes New York has always had its share of problems.
Perception and reality has its difference for however a person looks at it. Following the hearing, the members hope to change the perception.
Featured Image by John Minchillo/AP Images