Chautauqua County’s district attorney said he is “somewhat pleased” an amendment included in this year’s state budget has expanded the bail-eligible crimes that can be determined by a judge.

Nonetheless, Patrick Swanson said revisions to the bail reform law — hailed by some as a means to prevent the poor from sitting in jail awaiting trial and derided by others who say it leads to an increase in crime — do not go far enough.

“While I am somewhat pleased that the new bail statute expanded the number of offenses and scenarios that a court can set monetary bail, the statute still applies a rigid list and does not give judges discretion on every case,” Swanson said.

Fifteen new offenses were added to the list of charges eligible for bail. The amendment, pushed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was included in the budget and took effect July 3.

The bail-eligible felony offenses include:

¯ first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance;

¯ first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance;

¯ third-degree hate crime and third-degree hate crime arson

¯ sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a child;

¯ second-degree burglary (only when an individual is charged with entering the living space of another);

¯ certain domestic violence offenses (criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, second-degree strangulation and first-degree unlawful imprisonment);

¯ first-degree aggravated vehicular assault;

¯ first-degree grand larceny;

¯ aggravated assault on a child younger than 11

¯ endangering the welfare of a child when committed by a Level 3 sex offender;

¯ third- and fourth-degree money laundering in support of terrorism;

¯ promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child.

New York overhauled its bail law in mid-2019, reducing the number of crimes judges could set bail for — mostly violent felonies.

The remainder of those charged are released while their cases move through the court system.

Swanson noted that, as of the end of March, the state Division of Criminal Justice Services reported a 10% increase in crimes statewide in the first quarter of the year compared to 2019. That includes increases in violent crimes (3.1%) and property crimes (11.3%) in addition to robberies (9.8%), aggravated assaults (7.3%), burglaries (18.9%), larcenies (9%) and motor vehicle thefts (32.4%).

Reports of rapes statewide decreased 16.8% in the first three months of the year when compared to 2019.

“You can’t help but think there is a connection,” Swanson said of the increase in some crimes and the new bail reform law. “The first quarter numbers are alarming though. I suspect the second quarter will be skewed downward due to the shutdown, but if the first quarter is an indicator of what is coming I continue to have the concern I have had on the bail law.

“I think the data speaks for itself,” he continued. “The concerns of the DA’s association and Law Enforcement associations were and are real.”