Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said his decision not to prosecute low-level offenses in criminal court won't affect the quality-of-life of New Yorkers. He said moving cases out of Manhattan criminal court for crimes like urinating in public or walking between subway cars will help free up resources by diverting about 10,000 cases.
"What's happening here is really just a change of venue," he said. "Instead of being handled by assistant district attorneys and defense lawyers and judges in criminal court in Manhattan, they are going to another court."
Vance is making another change beginning next week. People with warrants for not appearing in court on a summons won't automatically be arrested the next time they're stopped. Instead, an officer will take them directly to court to clear up the issue.
In this interview, WNYC's Jami Floyd talks with Vance about the changes.