Reason Prevails in Queens

More than a few law-enforcement officials are likely to be breathing a sigh of relief that the final count in the Democratic primary for Queens District Attorney gave Borough President Melinda Katz a 55-vote margin over Tiffany Caban, a young defense lawyer who ran on a platform of sharply altering the office’s mission.

One indication of how unrealistic her notions about changing the criminal-justice system were came when she stated, first in a televised debate and later in an extended interview with NY1’s Errol Louis, that she wanted Rikers Island closed but opposed reviving the Queens House of Detention as a place to put inmates. Pressed by Mr. Louis as to whether she really believed that other boroughs would welcome Queens inmates in their own expanded jails, she insisted that was not a concern.