Arrests for Low-Level Crimes Climb Under NYC Mayor Eric Adams

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-30/nyc-s-rise-of-low-level-arrests-worry-critics-of-broken-windows-era

“We’re seeing arrests come through for things that we weren’t seeing for a long time,” said Eliza Orlins, a public defender with the Legal Aid Society who ran unsuccessfully for Manhattan District Attorney last year. “These are often cases that are minor violations — sleeping on a park bench, taking up two seats on the subway — it cycles people through the criminal justice system.”

(snip)

It’s unclear what impact the increased arrests are having on crime, especially the violent incidents that Adams has repeatedly highlighted as problematic and unacceptable. District attorneys’ prosecutorial decision-making determines whether arrests result in prosecutions and jail time. In a statement, the office of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said they look to balance justice for victims, quality of life concerns and diversion from the criminal justice system. “We are ever cognizant of the reality of racially disparate impacts and we continue to adjust our crime strategy accordingly,” the statement read. Representatives for the four other district attorneys’ offices did not respond to requests for comment.

(snip)

The data show property-related offenses like fare evasion, theft and possession of stolen property among those driving the rise in arrests, which points to poverty as a driver of crime, said Jullian Harris-Calvin, a director at the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit that seeks to end mass incarceration.

Arresting people for crimes of poverty can exacerbate the problems they faced in the first place by forcing them to serve jail time or pay fines, Harris-Calvin said. Focusing on the root causes of crime by improving food security, housing, jobs and creating better public and mental health infrastructure would have a greater impact on crime, she said.

[RAB910]

1. Sadly, I can't argue with this approach

It may be harsh, but in the end, we have seen positive results in terms of reducing crime and making people safer. I hate that this is true, but I can't really argue with results

[uponit7771]

4. Sledge hammer as a fly swatter comes to mind, is there a better way than punishing someone with

... America's judicial process?

tia

[RAB910]

7. I am not opposed to effective alternatives, but I do oppose lawlessness and innocent victims of

crime

[uponit7771]

12. Of course, no one wants lawlessness but the solution shouldn't be to error on side of punishing the

... unprivileged with the process of US judicial system for the smallest of crimes which this is what usually happens with "broken window" law enforcement.

Collective Efficacy seems to work better in fighting crime than broken windows policing

https://www.governing.com/assessments/the-clouded-legacy-of-broken-windows-policing

If there’s one alternative explanation for fluctuating urban crime rates that has gained serious traction, it’s ”collective efficacy,” developed by the Harvard sociologist Robert J. Sampson. Collective efficacy is essentially the degree of cohesion that exists in a neighborhood, the mutual trust through which neighbors help each other out of difficult situations, or return a lost wallet without rifling through it. In Sampson’s view, it is this form of efficacy, not quality of life law enforcement, that has the most effect on the local crime rate.

[RAB910]

13. I am old enough and live in the NYC suburbs, so I have seen NYC in the bad old days

I have witnessed what it was like when they cleaned up their act, and the city was safe or at least much safer.

When you let the small crimes "go", you really do create a sense of lawlessness that encourages far worse crimes to be committed. I have seen it first hand

[uponit7771]

14. Hmmmm, looks like there's a bad correlation between broken windows policing and reduction in

... crime.

Similar to what I'm hearing when it comes to people losing their jobs to slow down the economy.

In both situations its a sledge hammer as a fly swatter but we have more effective means to meet the goals needed than those who hurt the unprivileged the most.

[RAB910]

15. I appreciate what you are saying, but I am also mindful that the underprivileged are also the ones

that suffer disproportionately from crime

[uponit7771]

16. true

[brooklynite]

20. What is your "smaller than a hammer" solution to the petty crime program?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. Violent crime in NYC has gone up as these low-level arrests have gone up. What results are you

unable to argue with?

[RAB910]

6. I heard shootings and murders were down 10% just last week

I am not sure what you're referring to

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. Homicides and shooting are, while murder and other violent crimes are not. From the article:

However, the pandemic has brought increases in some categories of violent crime and some property crimes have increased in the first half of the year. Major felonies such as murder, rape and robbery are up 36%. Shootings and homicides are down 11%, while low-level offenses like petty theft have increased 42% so far this year, according to NYPD data.

Granted, all these numbers are from the NYPD, so take them with a grain of salt.

[RAB910]

9. Isn't homicides and murders one in the same?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. A homicide could be manslaughter, justifiable homicide, etc. As you see, classification of crimes

can help determine -- or hide -- whether *harm,* rather than *crime,* is going up or down.

[Mz Pip]

21. If you aren't going to prosecute the crime

then take it off the books.

[Farmer-Rick]

2. Jailing a man who stole some food he could not afford

Is like debtor's prison.

Increase in Arrests for petty crimes usually means police are harassing people of color again....errr still.

[TheRealNorth]

10. Very seldom is that the case...

Smash and grabs like we saw in San Francisco and other cities are a bad look, and innocent bystanders can get hurt. And if people are not punished, other people will be inclined to do it.

I am frankly sick of the lawlessness. Petty criminals are getting away with shit. Cops are getting away with murder. The alt-right is getting away with threatening people, and the TFG has so far been getting away with everything.

[Farmer-Rick]

17. I'm not talking about smash and grabs

I'm talking about putting a person in jail for taking a loaf of bread. That actually happened and he ended up being in jail for years. It happens a lot more than you think. Putting people in jail for speeding, putting people in jail for talking back at police stops and schools.

And the whole Stop and Frisk program in NY was focused on petty crime. It was used to harass people of color.

I think the low level violence you object to is encouraged by Trump and his MAGA. It's done by obnoxious people who think they are bulletproof because of their color, their job or their privilege.

[TheRealNorth]

18. When was the last time you heard of someone getting arrested for stealing food?

But there needs to be penalties even for minor crimes, ir else thise laws become optional. Make people do community service instead of a fine if money is the issue.

[Farmer-Rick]

19. There was that guy who was given life in prison

For stealing $50 worth from a bakery. He spent 36 years in prison for it.

Then there's the guy in New Orleans who faced 7 years in prison for stealing a candy bar.

Then the Southern poverty law center filed suit about A man who stole $5 worth of food to feed his family and was thrown in jail when he could not pay court costs.

That's what really ends up putting people in prison is the court costs and fines added to everything they can't pay. There's a friend I know who ended up $100,000s in debt because of a speeding ticket and parking tickets he ignored. He couldn't afford the tickets and kept paying a little at a time. He's already paid $50,000 and still owes that much more for fines and Court costs.

Money is always the issue for the poor.

[Polybius]

22. People who steal bread from a small store should realize they they are not stealing from the rich

Some of these store owners can barely survive the city's sky-high rents.

[Hotler]

3. Maybe there have been some low level crimes committed by the orange one and we can

arrest him right now. Would make for a perfect weekend.