Decision 2024: Cooney and VanBrederode talk crime and safety

ROCHESTER, NY – With just five weeks until Election Day, News10NBC has a one-on-one interview with State Senator Jeremy Cooney and his Republican opponent Jim VanBrederode to discuss an issue on many voters’ minds: crime and safety.

Although crime in our area is down compared to recent years, these years were historic highs. Both candidates seem to agree that there is still a lot of work ahead of them.

“If you’re trying to buy a home in a neighborhood and you don’t feel safe letting your kids wait for the bus, then we’re failing you,” said New York Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester).

His opponent, Jim VanBrederode, a former Gates police chief, pointed to the current state of store security as an example of things having gone too far.

“We now have concrete barriers in front of all our branches, we have blue light cameras in the parking lots, we have security guards at the front door. You get toothpaste and have to ask the employee to unlock the toothpaste. We face this every day because we have gone far too far and are unable to get those off the streets who will not stop re-offending,” VanBrederode said.

VanBrederode believes many of the criminal justice reforms enacted in 2021 have had a negative impact on the community.

“They (the Democratic majority) literally went through the entire criminal justice system and made massive radical changes to create a restorative justice model. “They literally touched everything from the juvenile justice system to the adult system to the probation system to the prisons to the rules within the prison system to our district attorneys’ offices and it really sent the criminal justice system into a tailspin,” he says.

Senator Cooney defends his work on bail reform legislation.

“A lot of times when we talk about legislation, it has a different impact upstate than inland. That’s why we want to evaluate how bail or parole or other types of public safety initiatives impact our community. Personally, I’m very proud of the work we’ve done over the last four years to tweak or change the bail reform legislation that was voted on before I was even elected to office to make sure it works better “, he says.

Cooney says the work involves adding more than 40 crimes to the list of those for which judges can impose bail.

“Whether they use this tool is at their discretion,” says Cooney.

Jennifer Lewke, News10NBC: “There have been so many changes in the last few years. Is it possible that the justices aren’t entirely sure and there isn’t a lot of precedent, so they’re erring on the side of caution when applying these changes?”

Jeremy Cooney: “Yes, and this is where training comes into play. I think the Legislature could do something by providing resources for more training.”

VanBrederode disagrees.

“If there are judges out there who don’t understand the law, these are people with law degrees, if they don’t understand the law, then there’s a problem, right? You did something so complicated. “We have to go back,” he says.

When asked if he would be open to further changes to bail reform, Cooney said he is always willing to consider improvements.

Jennifer Lewke: “At this stage, do you feel that enough offenses have been added to be eligible for bail or are you still open to adding more or looking at the matter differently?”

Jeremy Cooney: “With any piece of legislation, whether related to public safety or healthcare, there are always improvements that we can learn from based on implementation or community feedback. So I’m open-minded about how we can improve public policy in a way that works effectively here in Monroe County and in New York.”

News10NBC investigative reporter Jennifer Lewke spoke extensively with both candidates on a number of specific topics related to criminal justice reforms.