Poll shows NYC voters have shifted against cash bail reforms

A new poll by Siena College finds that most New Yorkers now think a recent bail reform law is bad for the state, with voter support for the legislation declining.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said they think that a law eliminating cash bail for most misdemeanors and some nonviolent felony crimes is bad for the state of New York.

However, 55 percent of those surveyed in April, just after the law had passed, said they thought the law would be good for the state, according to Spectrum News NY1.

The law got some bad press earlier this month when the New York City Police Department said they were forced to ask federal law enforcement to help apprehend a serial bank robber because he was ruled a nonviolent offender, according to a report in The New York Post.

The poll also finds that nearly two-thirds of voters are supportive of a number of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) State of the State proposals.

The governor’s favorability in the poll is at 49 percent, up from 44 percent in April.

The Siena College poll was performed between Jan. 11-16 and had an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.