Posted on 01/06/2008 12:21:32 PM PST by knighthawk
New York City just ended 2007 with the lowest number of murders - below 500 - since 1963, the last year exact comparisons are possible. This homicide drop, from a high of 2,245 in1990, is unmatched anywhere in the country or in the annals of policing. It is long past time for New Yorkers to acknowledge the debt that they owe to their police force.
But the significance of the city's crime drop extends beyond the metropolis. It overthrows decades of conventional wisdom about social control and behavior change.
The reason for the city's crime rout is clear: The NYPD combines superb management with massive manpower. Since the mid-1990s, when the city's crime rate started its free fall, top brass and precinct commanders have excelled in developing crime control innovations. Prime among them has been Compstat, the computer-aided analysis sessions that hold precinct commanders accountable for public safety in their jurisdictions. To his credit, Commissioner Raymond Kelly has maintained Compstat, which originated under rival Commissioner William Bratton in 1994.
The intense and focused Kelly has added innovations of his own. Operation Impact floods crime hot spots with rookie officers, who walk foot beats. The Real-Time Crime Center gets data on potential suspects and related crime patterns into the hands of detectives within minutes of a crime, allowing them to track down perps more quickly. Officers now visit domestic violence victims to check on their well-being, resulting in a 40% drop in domestic homicides over three years. And the Kelly-era NYPD has continued the nuts and bolts of effective policing - stop-and-frisks toget guns off the street and enforcement of quality-of-life laws - despite carping from the usual critics.
It is impossible to overstate how distasteful the NYPD's success is to the criminology profession, which is committed to the idea that policing can do little to lower crime. During the 1990s, criminologists attributed New York's crime drop to anything but policing. Since 2000, when their arguments began to appear even more absurd, they have simply gone silent and are assiduously looking the other way.
But the conclusion is unavoidable: Well-run policing is society's most powerful public safety tool. Since the 1960s, New York has spent billions on redistributionist social programs that were supposed to eradicate poverty and with it, the dysfunctional behaviors of the underclass. Yet by the start of the 1990s, packs of feral youths roamed subways and parks maiming and murdering. Thugs armed with military weaponry controlled whole neighborhoods. Today, those neighborhoods thrive with commerce and family life, thanks to the NYPD.
The city must honor the foot soldiers in the conquest of crime, in both word and deed. Officers' starting salaries of $25,100 are an insult and a threat to the quality of the force; the cops must get a raise. But equally important, anti-cop agitators must no longer be allowed to dominate the public discourse about policing. The NYPD is among the most restrained big-city forces. Officer shootings are at record lows. A recent Rand Corp. study confirmed the obvious: Officers respond to suspicious activity, not to race. If the anti-cop brigade had any interest in actually spending time with officers and learning what they do, it would discover their passionate commitment to law-abiding members of poor, minority communities, who, the police believe, have as much right to live free of fear as residents of Park Ave.
Next time cop-bashers like the Rev. Al Sharpton and City Councilman Charles Barron are on a rampage, it would be nice if city leaders actually spoke up for the cops, given how much they have done for New York. There is no reason to think that the NYPD won't continue lowering crime in 2008; proven tools of policing will continue to deter opportunistic crime and apprehend and lock away criminals who are not deterrable. The city can show its gratitude by ignoring the provocateurs who make a living by demonizing the police.
Mac Donald, a contributing editor at City Journal, is author of the book "Are Cops Racist?"
By Heather Mac Donald
The achievement is undebatable
“stop-and-frisk” is what is referred to as a “Terry Stop” from the supreme court case (around 1976, IIRC) that said it didn’t violate the 4th amendment. 2 major qualifications:”
Yeah I know but everytime I hear that I remember a news video from NYC a couple years ago where the cop was requesting ID from people at random. Perhaps the liberal activist courts have made it ‘legal’ but IMO its not within the intent of the COnstitution.
I still think NYC is a police state. Their answer is more police and more obtrusive police. They continue to ignore the societal causes of crime such as the break down of the family.
Lemme get this straight...there are fewer murders (if you say so) because of police management? Police management keeps people from killing each other? I didn't think police management was a factor until after someone was murdered.
Is that like saying there are more engineers because of university management?
Apparenly there are no individuals anymore. Only aggregates managed by institutions.
Screw that.
Management can be defined as putting manpower where it’s needed, buying the kinds of toys that allow individuals to perform their jobs more effectively, and promoting those who are best qualified for the job.
thank you, Tom Peters.
It is impossible to overstate how distasteful the NYPD’s success is to the criminology profession, which is committed to the idea that policing can do little to lower crime.
@@@@@
I think another aspect of the NYC success story is the fact that the city has been made livable, to the point that people choose to move there, rather than to move away from there. An improving society is one where more people choose to go with the flow of obeying laws.
Example: Stats for 2007
Washington DC with about a half million people had 182 homicides.
Montgomery County, next door, about a million residents, but one of the highest median incomes in the country - 19 homicides.
Baltimore, MD, a truly decaying city of about 600,000 people - more that 280 homicides in ‘07.
Look, NYC is 8 million people, 600 miles of subway track, a couple dozen languages, varying terrain, and a major terrorist target. Being organized is something of a necessity when it comes to police work.
Who do you think put the system in place, such as CompStat, and other evaluation systems that Guiliani spearheaded?
Bratten, Jack Maple and Ray Kelly....
I knew a couple of outstanding soldiers that were NYPD and said they had to quit because they couldn’t afford living near there. $25,100 starting salary? That is a slap in the face, NYPD no doubt has lost many more because of that low salary. I could make more working at Kinko’s or McDonalds, and not have to worry about getting killed.
As Bobby Baker was fond of saying: “Money talks and bullsh*t walks.”
“I still think NYC is a police state. Their answer is more police and more obtrusive police. They continue to ignore the societal causes of crime such as the break down of the family.”
You indeed cite long-term conditions that cause crime. Sadly, by the time the criminal has come of age, long-term solutions like the ones you propose are wayyy too late. There is a reason why they call it, “Court of last resort.”
My friends from permissive places (ie, Amsterdam) tell me that permissive laws and law police involvement only works when people are very moral in their day to day behavior. In other words, society can tolerate occasional drug use if the person otherwise leads a productive and crime-free life.
“Just think how much more the murder rate would have gone down if citizens had the right to carry.
The way things are, practically not. Nearly all the remaining murders involve one low-life killing another in a fight over drugs. The murders of middle and upper class citizens by criminals is down to nearly zero.
“I knew a couple of outstanding soldiers that were NYPD and said they had to quit because they couldn’t afford living near there. $25,100 starting salary? That is a slap in the face, NYPD no doubt has lost many more because of that low salary. I could make more working at Kinko’s or McDonalds, and not have to worry about getting killed.
But the deal is, you get a lot more after only a few years, even if you don’t get promoted. And there’s always overtime.
Most officers make over $75K a year, and can retire on half-pay after 20 years.
“You indeed cite long-term conditions that cause crime. Sadly, by the time the criminal has come of age, long-term solutions like the ones you propose are wayyy too late. There is a reason why they call it, “Court of last resort.””
Absolutely, but they are doing nothing to reverse the trend.
But, another good example of lawful OK ( to me) police work. Long, long ago, in a galaxy far away, I was asked my name and business by cops. I gave it to them, they were satisfied, and when I asked why they were inquiring, they showed me a bulletin they had on a person, who, in fact, appeared to fit me pretty well. They asked, as they should have , I answered, and we both went on our way.
Those first few years ar ethe killer though, especially if you have a family, which both of these guys I knew did.
I just read here a few days ago that the murder rate in LA is way down, too.
“They continue to ignore the societal causes of crime such as the break down of the family.”
The mayor, the police, can’t do much about the break down of the family, unless things like drugs are the cause.
The breakdown of the family comes from loss of moral values.
That responsibility is the sole court of the individual, and cannot be placed on the state.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.