Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America want to end enforcement of all misdemeanors, calling policing and detention “instruments of class war.”
Democratic mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America are pushing to abolish enforcement of all misdemeanor offenses, The Post reports. The group’s platform calls policing and detention “instruments of class war” and seeks to end “the criminalization of working-class survival.”
“For all of the working class to achieve collective liberation we must constrain, diminish, and abolish the carceral forces of the state,” the platform states.
Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman, has urged police to stop focusing on “non serious crimes,” saying, “Police have a critical role to play but right now we’re relying on them to deal with the failures of our social safety net.”
Critics argue the proposal would worsen crime. “That will create an EZ-Pass for criminals,” Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa warned. Residents have also expressed outrage, saying the move would embolden offenders.
Mamdani has not responded to requests for comment.