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Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

nytimes.com

51–60 of 192 posts

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#51

From the Times editorial board: > If the Police Department’s current commanders cannot get the cops to do their jobs, Mr. de Blasio should consider replacing them. > He should invite the Justice Department to determine if the police are guilty of civil rights violations in withdrawing policing from minority communities. > He should remind the police that they are public employees, under oath to uphold city and state…

Or maybe he could just show them a little respect.

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#52

From the Times editorial board: > If the Police Department’s current commanders cannot get the cops to do their jobs, Mr. de Blasio should consider replacing them. > He should invite the Justice Department to determine if the police are guilty of civil rights violations in withdrawing policing from minority communities. > He should remind the police that they are public employees, under oath to uphold city and state…

He should remind the police that they are public employees, under oath to uphold city and state laws.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#54
post #36
post #7

I think this most recent trend in the police department has a huge potential to backfire. Perhaps this will highlight the fact that in the US, our lives have become over-criminalized and over-monitored by an increasingly growing police force and that we simply don't need so many officers and laws. This would be a good thing in America. However, I hate the fact that this change was brought about by the deaths of peopl…

Apparently one of the reasons cited by some is that the decrease is due to police doubling up -not patrolling solo, due to perceived possible threats from possible crazies, and this doubling up has taken away availability to address non crucial policing matters...

Not that patrolling in pairs saved these two guys' lives...

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#55
post #50
post #29

I work in Manhattan and visit fairly shitty areas of Brooklyn and Queens regularly. These past few weeks have been the first time since I moved here that I've felt safe in the presence of cops. I'd read about enforcement being down just after the funeral for the officers shot in the Bronx but it really didn't click until a pair of them walked down the street by me in Chelsea. They didn't look at my SO like they were…

I'm suspecting that it will eventually prove that those that don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. NYC in the '70s and '80s was not that safe. Street crime, muggings, etc. were common. In the 1990s Giuliani stepped up patrols and sarted enforcing what most people thought were petty crimes, such as loitering, graffiti, parking violations, subway-gate-jumping, etc. with the effect that more serious crimes als…

The truth of the matter is that we don't know why crime dropped over the last 30ish years. There are lots of theories, broken windows policing is just one of them.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2014/11/24/10-not-entirel...

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#56
post #5

If these minor offenses are not affecting crime then are they offenses whose only purpose is to generate revenue? If the city has not imploded then is that not sufficient evidence to get a discussion about the existence of these offenses?

At one point in the past enforcing these minor offenses served a legitimate purpose. NYC was leading the nation in violent crime and the city was in deep disrepair. Times Square, an international icon, was so filled with trash dangerous that people avoided it for fear of being mugged or killed. Movie theaters weren't safe places because drug deals would occur which sometimes lead to increased crime.

This is the NYC in which these minor offenses needed to be enforced strictly. There are a number of theories regarding the decrease in crime but I'm pretty certain no one can argue that the drastic measures were necessary. Fast forward to 2014 NYC is basically disney world for adult tourists. There definitely needs to be a review of how we police the city because the tactics currently in place are from 25 years ago. Hopefully the data from this slowdown will provide the evidence necessary to create change.

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#57
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a direct response to De Blasio's asking police to implement Broken Windows policies. They are sending him the message they aren't taking his orders anymore.

Which, to me, is the scary part of this whole thing. Before, it was only implied that the police weren't accountable to anybody -- now they're literally turning their back on the head of the municipal government.

[deleted]

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#58
post #51

From the Times editorial board: > If the Police Department’s current commanders cannot get the cops to do their jobs, Mr. de Blasio should consider replacing them. > He should invite the Justice Department to determine if the police are guilty of civil rights violations in withdrawing policing from minority communities. > He should remind the police that they are public employees, under oath to uphold city and state…

Or maybe he could just show them a little respect.

Every police officer takes an oath. It generally goes like this:

"On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the Constitution, my community, and the agency I serve."

I'm missing the part where there is an "if my mayor coddles my feelings the right way" line in there.

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#59
post #50
post #29

I work in Manhattan and visit fairly shitty areas of Brooklyn and Queens regularly. These past few weeks have been the first time since I moved here that I've felt safe in the presence of cops. I'd read about enforcement being down just after the funeral for the officers shot in the Bronx but it really didn't click until a pair of them walked down the street by me in Chelsea. They didn't look at my SO like they were…

I'm suspecting that it will eventually prove that those that don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. NYC in the '70s and '80s was not that safe. Street crime, muggings, etc. were common. In the 1990s Giuliani stepped up patrols and sarted enforcing what most people thought were petty crimes, such as loitering, graffiti, parking violations, subway-gate-jumping, etc. with the effect that more serious crimes als…

There are a number of reasons for the decrease in crime in the 1990s, including a decrease in the use of crack cocaine and, famously, lead removal (http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-li...). Causation/correlation, etc.

Re: Life in New York City, Where Arrests Are Down and Tickets Are Rarities

#60
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which, to me, is the scary part of this whole thing. Before, it was only implied that the police weren't accountable to anybody -- now they're literally turning their back on the head of the municipal government.

[deleted]

The problem with the analogy is that while the mayor is the leader of the employees of the city, he is also functionally the leader of the people of the city. Acknowledging to his constituents that the friction with the police may be partially the fault of the police is not 'external'.
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