Mayor Eric Adams says changes need to be made to New York's bail reform to stop convicted felons from taking advantage of the system.

Adams says data the city collected shows high rates of recidivism since bail reform went into effect in 2019. He says the report shows how some convicted felons have been arrested multiple times.

The mayor says that while bail reform was needed, he can't ignore criminals exploiting a system to be back on the streets.

“This is unsustainable as a city. That makes us less safe, it also undermines the morale of our communities and the police department that's sworn to protect them,” he says.

After the mayor's announcement, some groups expressed opposition, including the Legal Aid Society.

“The numbers don’t lie, and last week, multiple outlets reported on data released by the New York State Office of Court Administration showing that bail reform has had little impact on recidivism and as an overall driver of crime, despite the repeated attempts by this administration to cherry-pick a handful of cases to misguide New Yorkers and convince them that bail reform is responsible for all of society’s ills,” the group said.

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, also opposed the mayor’s announcement, saying, “The mayor’s repeated calls for further changes to bail reform aren’t based on facts. State data shows a decline in re-arrests since 2020, whether someone made bail or was released on their own recognizance. Half of the felony re-arrests came despite judges likely having discretion to set bail in those cases."

Adams spoke with the State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie last week about making changes to bail reform. The mayor says those talks will continue and will present the city's numbers to him.