NEW YORK STATE (WENY) -- Yesterday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that judges in New York will have more discretion to jail people who are awaiting trial. This policy change has been fiercely resisted by some of Governor Hochul's fellow party members. 

Supporters of bail reform have said, requiring people to pay cash to get out of jail rigs the system against poor people. Opponents of bail reform have said it hurts public safety and repeat offenders are back out on the streets, in most cases.  

This new piece of reform allowing judges more leeway to make decisions is being welcomed by the law enforcement community. 

“It's been a big frustration since bail reform was put into place,” Chemung County Sheriff William Schrom said. “We are very pleased to see the governor take some steps to, maybe, rectify that a little bit.”  

During Governor Kathy Hochul's announcement on the agreement for the 2024 New York State Budget, she said bail reform needs to be improved upon. She added, the tendency of convicted criminals to re-offend needs to be taken into account.  

“I do believe that judges should have more authority to set bail and detain dangerous defendants,” she said. 

Governor Hochul said by giving judges more discretion, they have the ability to keep violent offenders off the streets until they have their day in court. 

Chemung County Sheriff William Schrom said the new announcement is a much-welcomed move that will help not only law enforcement, but also the public. 

“Criminals that belong in jail do not need to be out in the street, repeatedly committing crimes...over and over again,” he said. “We are arresting the same person repeatedly...that's not what bail reform was designed for.” 

Sheriff Schrom said this reform feels like a breath of fresh air for law enforcement, across the state. 

“Law enforcement always said, 'Listen, just give us a seat at the table as one of the stakeholders and maybe we can prevent some of these things from going so long before they're rectified,’” he said. “This is a step in the right direction.” 

The agreement removes what is known as the least restrictive means standard, which many judges have said, tied their hands.