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NYPD Commissioner Tisch Blames Cuomo Reforms, Not COVID, for Crime Spike

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NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Monday rejected the argument that the coronavirus pandemic was responsible for New York City’s rise in crime, instead blaming former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s bail and criminal justice reforms, as reported [1] by The New York Post.

Speaking at a Citizens Budget Commission breakfast in Midtown, Tisch pushed back after a moderator suggested that crime escalated because of disruptions caused by COVID-19.

“It really gets me when people say that,” Tisch said.

“The pandemic was tied with drastic changes in our criminal justice laws that happened to take effect Jan. 1, 2020 — the whole time during the pandemic. In my opinion, crime went up as a result of the drastic changes we see in our criminal justice laws in New York City.”

Tisch singled out the “Raise the Age” law, signed by Cuomo in 2019, which increased the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18. The commissioner said the policy created a “consequence-free environment” for youth offenders.

“It is maddening, and the results of it are even more maddening,” she said. “The number of kids that are victims of shootings are up 83% since those laws changed. The number of kids that are shooters is up almost 100% in that time.”

Although major crime categories have begun to decline in 2023, the city saw elevated levels of violence after Mayor Eric Adams took office in 2022.

Tisch noted that shootings this summer dropped to record lows and major felonies have started to recede, though she cautioned that progress remains incomplete.

“I want to be very clear: We are nowhere near where we need to be,” she said. “Meaning, just because crime is down doesn’t mean that in many categories it’s where it was … in the 2010s before those criminal justice laws.”

Image Credit: © Daily News and Wicked Local Staff Photo/Art Illman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images [6]
Registered Nurse Jaya Rawla prepares a Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at the Fuller Middle School vaccination clinic for Framingham school staff and teachers, March 18, 2021.

National studies have cited COVID-19 disruptions as a factor in rising crime in U.S. cities, but Tisch stressed that in New York, bail reform policies played the larger role.

She also commented on President Donald Trump’s repeated calls to send the National Guard into New York City to combat crime.

While Trump has already deployed troops to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, and has threatened similar moves in New York and Chicago, Tisch said the Guard is not suited for urban law enforcement.

“One of the very major concerns that I have around this topic of deploying the National Guard to New York City or big cities across the country, is that it will introduce an amount of chaos and disorder and confusion that will be counterproductive,” Tisch said.

“To say nothing of the fact that as a lifelong New Yorker, I am revolted by the idea of the militarization of our streets.”

Tisch suggested instead that federal partnerships should focus on shutting down illegal gun pipelines.

“Some of those federal criminal laws, they’re unbelievable,” she said. “I would take many more gun cases federally if we had more federal prosecutors. Let’s focus on the right type of partnership with the federal government. The National Guard happens not to be that thing.”