Dear Editor:
As a lifelong Suffolk County resident, attorney, social worker, and crime victim advocate, I have spent more than 25 years standing beside victims whose lives were forever altered by violence. I have listened to their fear, their frustration, and their heartbreak when they learn that the person who harmed them has been quickly released back into the community. For too many victims, the justice system has become another source of trauma.
That is why I strongly support the PROTECT Act.
New York is now the only state in the nation that does not allow judges to consider a defendant’s dangerousness when making bail decisions. From the perspective of crime victims, this is not just an abstract policy failure — it is a daily, lived reality. Victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, gang violence, and other serious crimes often fear retaliation, intimidation, or repeat offenses while cases are pending. That fear is justified.
The PROTECT Act offers a balanced, commonsense solution. It requires judges to use a standardized risk assessment tool to determine whether someone poses a real threat to public safety or is likely to reoffend. This approach protects the constitutional rights of the accused while finally acknowledging what victims have been saying for years: risk matters.
Importantly, the PROTECT Act does not detain people simply because they are poor. Instead, it focuses on behavior, history, and risk—the very factors that victims and law enforcement see play out on our streets every day. It brings New York in line with the rest of the country and restores faith that public safety is once again a priority.
Victims deserve to know that their voices matter and that their safety is not an afterthought. The PROTECT Act is a meaningful step toward restoring balance, accountability, and trust in our justice system. Albany must act now.
Laura Ahearn, Executive Director of The Crime Victims Center, formerly Parents for Megan’s Law.
Dear Editor:
I’m writing this as a victim of an assault by a criminal who had been arrested numerous times and was let back out onto the street. It’s sickening to read story after story about repeat offenders with long rap sheets cycling through the system as if arrests mean nothing. Has anyone given any thought to the victims of these crimes—the people left injured, traumatized, and forever changed?
There is a crime wave running through many communities across this state, and it isn’t caused by random chaos. It is driven by the same individuals committing the same offenses again and again, emboldened by laws that prioritize their release over public safety. When consequences disappear, accountability disappears with them.
What makes this worse is the silence from politicians who helped create this mess. They seem immune to the reality on the ground. Maybe they’ll change if it happens to them or someone they love. For victims, there is no rewind button. We live with the fear, the medical bills, the anxiety, and the knowledge that the person who hurt us may be back on the street tomorrow.
New York has to do better. Judges should be allowed to keep dangerous people in jail. Victims should matter as much as defendants. Public safety should not be an afterthought. Until lawmakers start listening to victims, this cycle will continue, and more innocent people will pay the price.
Name Withheld, Coram