Crime has become a key issue in the New York governor’s race. Here’s what experts and the numbers say.

…Jillian Snider, a retired New York City police officer, said the bail reform law worries her in one way. She said it may have made would-be criminals more likely to commit crime because they figure there won’t be any consequences if they do. “People are just like, ‘Oh, I could do whatever I want,’ because certain media outlets are spinning it like no one’s going to jail,” said Snider, who now teaches criminology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “And we know that’s not the case.” Snider thinks the State Legislature ought to consider amending the bail law to allow judges to consider a suspect’s dangerousness. But she also cautions against blaming the bail law for rising crime – and against believing what you hear about crime in political commercials. “The ads on TV are just so inflammatory, and they’re so exaggerated,” said Snider, who now serves as policy director for criminal justice and civil liberties at the R Street Institute, a conservative think tank. “We shouldn’t be voting based on who can yell louder about what they’re going to do or not do about the crime surge. We want to make sure that the policies that the candidates are considering or wanting to put into place are going to not only enhance public safety, but continue the trend that we’ve been seeing for the last two years in changing the criminal justice system to be more equitable.”