Upstate NY’s burden: Downstate’s criminals

The Issue: How proactive policing tactics in New York City affect the prison population upstate.


New York is governed by men and women from downstate. Upstate is little more than a colony (“Emptying NY Prisons, Heather McDonald, PostOpinion, March 12).

Fracking, alternative-lifestyle legislation, Second Amendment issues, agriculture policy, tax policy — you name it, and the folks downstate tell those upstate how to live their lives.

Downstate always thinks it knows what is best. We have conclaves of affluent downstaters who buy summer homes and fantasy farms. They have the money, and we do not.

Colonization and control have always worked this way.Edmond Day


Living in upstate New York, we seem to be experiencing an increase in violent and drug-related crime.

Many criminals have moved here in the last five years. Almost all of them have extensive criminal records. Many are on parole.

If police only had to supervise local people, they would be limited to shoplifting offenses.

Instead of incarcerating prisoners, are officials in New York City just pushing them off on everyone else? Peter Hess


I have seen more and more stories about a parolee or mentally ill person or someone who had a long rap sheet committing crimes.

Yet our state leaders are closing prisons and mental-health facilities while punishing citizens with laws like Gov. Cuomo’s SAFE Act.

What price do we put on human life?

Instead of putting these people back on the streets, we need tougher sentencing and more help for our mentally ill.

We need to aggressively prosecute criminals and tougher criteria to be eligible for parole.

End the madness, and get these people off our streets.

Douglas Berryann


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