Senator Pam Helming and members of the New York State Senate Republican Conference were joined today by Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, Suffolk County Clerk Vincent Puleo and local law enforcement, and community leaders to demand passage of S.2282A, the PROTECT Act (Pretrial Risk Overview for Threat Evaluation Custody and Treatment), sponsored by Senator Helming. Developed with input from law enforcement and faith leaders, the legislation mandates that judges use a standardized risk assessment tool to determine whether dangerous offenders should be held pretrial or released. ​Senator Helming, along with members of the Republican conference, have been travelling the state, rallying with local law enforcement to make this a priority in the next legislative session. It is vitally important that we pass the aptly named “PROTECT ACT” legislation to protect New Yorkers from dangerous repeat offenders.

NYS Senator Dean Murray stated, "It is imperative that a system be put in place to determine if those who have been arrested are a danger to society so they aren't simply released back out on the streets to do more harm while they await trial."