The Legal Aid Society is praising Manhattan’s new district attorney Alvin Bragg for reforming his office’s position on charging for minor crimes, as reported by Patch.

As laid out in a memo to staff, Bragg will not seek charges for minor offenses including fare evasion, marijuana misdemeanors, resisting arrest, or prostitution, except in instances where that offense is tied to a felony charge.

“The Legal Aid Society welcomes this memo as a substantive first step to reform an office that long resorted to making excessive bail requests and overcharging our clients,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-in-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice. “Meaningful reform demands that these newly announced policies become standard operating procedure officewide, and we urge judges to not stand in the way of these long overdue and necessary reforms.”