New Hampshire is the safest state in the nation thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement officers. From our state troopers, to county sheriffs, to the men and women of local police departments who protect our cities and towns, they play a vital role in protecting the Granite State each day.
Despite their incredible work each day, they face a serious obstacle to getting dangerous criminals off our streets. The so-called bail reform law passed in 2018 was brought about by a misguided national movement, and the results have been a disaster for public safety.
Mere months ago on a Friday in downtown Manchester, an individual stabbed someone a dozen times, only to be promptly released on personal recognizance (PR) bail by a magistrate. A Bedford officer was shot while apprehending a criminal who should never have been on our streets, and a Manchester officer I met during a ride-along last year had his finger gnawed to the bone by a criminal out on bail, taking him off the job for six months. A few years ago in my hometown of Nashua, a man was arrested for domestic violence, let out on bail, and arrested again that same day for assaulting the same woman.
The 2018 law created a revolving door for violent criminals in our state, and it’s putting officers and the public at risk. This social experiment brought about by a misguided national movement has failed in New Hampshire. I am calling on the legislature to help me slam this revolving door shut once and for all by sending House Bill 592 to my desk.
Our current system is a joke to criminals. Too often, offenders are back on the street before officers who arrested them have even finished filing their paperwork. Our law enforcement officers and the public deserve better than this. The safest state in the nation deserves better than this.
I am committed to ending this failed social experiment. In addition to our support for House Bill 592, I have added this language to House Bill 2, the budget trailer bill. Mayor Jay Ruais in Manchester, our law enforcement community, and the families of those victimized by this revolving door have spoken out. It is now the legislature’s job to act, and I am asking them to send legislation to my desk to fix this once and for all.
There are some in the legislature who have called these cases “seductive anecdotes.” Try telling that to the officers who have been injured by criminals out on PR bail or to victims of these crimes. Others have said we should wait to see how the reforms made in recent years work. I say to them that criminals don’t wait, and neither should we.
Our law enforcement officers deserve our full support and backing as they do their jobs. Granite Staters deserve to feel safe on our streets. To keep New Hampshire the safest state in the nation, we must finally end the failed social experiment that was bail reform. Together, we can slam shut this revolving door once and for all and get violent offenders off our streets.
