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  • No risk to public safety in dismissal of decade-old bench warrants

    September 14, 2017 | New York Amsterdam News

    As Manhattan’s district attorney, it is my responsibility to make our criminal justice system fairer, more efficient and more effective for all. And if we are going to build a more just system, we must begin by safely reducing unnecessary contact with the criminal justice system. Each new initiative contemplated by my office is scrutinized through that lens, and if a past policy inhibits that goal or contributes to an injustice, we have a duty to reform it.

  • Manhattan DA lightens marijuana penalties in new policy

    September 7, 2017 | Politico

    Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance announced that his office is changing its plea guidelines for marijuana arrests to lighten penalties for first- and second-time offenders, effective Tuesday. The new approach is expected to help some immigrants avoid penalties that could lead to deportation and comes amid backlash from municipalities and states over President Donald Trump's immigration policies — specifically the use of courts to identify and deport undocumented immigrants. Vance announced that his office is also working on a policy, to be implemented in the spring, to end prosecutions for low-level drug possession.

  • Statement by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. on Decision Regarding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Policy

    September 5, 2017 | The Manhattan District Attorney

    “Today’s announcement by the Trump Administration to remove protection from deportation for young people brought into this country by their parents is a dark moment in our history. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers will be directly impacted by the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, and the potential removal of law-abiding, tax-paying, and hardworking individuals from schools, jobs, communities, and entire industries will have a ripple effect far beyond that circle.

  • This bill could turn your city into the Wild West

    August 23, 2017 | CNN

    New York's turnaround on violent crime has improved the lives of all New Yorkers. In 1990, there were more than 2,000 murders in our city. Last year, there were 335. I'm proud to say that New York remains the safest big city in the nation, at least according to the Economist's Safe Cities Index. But this progress could come to a screeching halt if the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, known as CCRA, passes Congress.

  • Let Prisoners Learn While They Serve

    August 16, 2017 | The New York Times

    The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., stepped into the void left by the Legislature when he agreed l to pay for Governor Cuomo’s prison education plan with more than $7 million in criminal forfeiture money secured from banks. Lauding what he described as a public safety measure, Mr. Vance said, “It makes no sense to send someone to prison with no pathway for them to succeed.”

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