By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
AUG. 9, 2017

For years, beginning in the 1990s, aggressive enforcement of minor offenses, like riding a bike on a sidewalk or drinking in public, was a fundamental part of policing in New York. But one of the lasting consequences of that enforcement has become a major policy dilemma, as more and more people lived with the threat of jail time for long-ago, low-level charges.

On Wednesday, in a sweeping coda to those policing practices, more than half a million outstanding warrants for minor charges dating back at least 10 years were dismissed in a coordinated effort by New York prosecutors to ease the enduring effects of that era.

The district attorneys for Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens collectively moved to dismiss about 644,000 warrants, the latest in a string of actions to reduce the number of people passing through the criminal courts and city jails on charges that would otherwise merit little more than a fine or community service…

 

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