Manhattan DA’s Conviction Rate Decline

The conviction rate in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has seen a notable decline since Alvin Bragg took over, yet finding specific information is proving challenging as the DA’s data dashboard is currently noted as “under construction.”

For 2024, only 35% of felony cases resulted in convictions, which is a decrease from 37% in 2023. The conviction rates for the years prior were 40% in 2022 and 42% in 2021, with a much higher rate of 64% in 2019. This information has been highlighted by various reports.

Bragg made history as Manhattan’s first Black DA when he assumed office in 2022. Interestingly, the findings indicate that in two-thirds of conviction cases, charges were later reduced to non-criminal offenses or misdemeanors.

Since Bragg took over, there has been an uptick in the number of felony cases he chose not to prosecute; this figure rose from 7% in 2022 to 12% in 2024.

Additionally, misdemeanor convictions also dropped, declining from 24% to 17% within the same period. Reportedly, Bragg opted not to indict 31% of misdemeanors in 2024, a significant increase compared to 9% in 2022 and 19% in 2023.

Rafael Munger, a law fellow at the Manhattan Institute, commented that these outcomes are intentional. He mentioned that Bragg believes imprisonment should only be a last resort and has avoided seeking prison terms for many offenses, particularly those over 20 years.

Currently, the Manhattan DA’s data website indicates it is “under construction,” marking the first such notice since October. The website stated it aims to enhance data reporting and offer a broader perspective on criminal justice trends.

A spokesperson for the DA’s office mentioned they are collaborating with other boroughs on how best to present this data. They previously asserted that the Manhattan DA’s first data dashboard aimed to provide the public with comprehensive insights into prosecutions handled by the office.

However, some voices question the timing of this dashboard’s removal, especially with an election year approaching, which, as Munger pointed out, raises important questions about the direction of the DA’s office.