Police Not Arresting People For Minor Crimes After Death Of New York Police Department Officers

Officers Fearful About Their Safety

According to anonymous sources, many police officers of the New York Police Department are refraining from making any arrests for minor crimes, after the tragic slaying of two police officers by a person who wanted to extract revenge for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. In fact, arrest rates have decreased by at least 66% compared to 2013. Of course, it is not known if arrests have dipped after the incident or whether it was a general year long trend. An officer echoed his fellow officers when he said, “I’m not writing any summonses. Do you think I’m going to stand there so someone can shoot me or hit me in the head with an ax?” “I’m concerned about my safety. I want to go to home to my wife and kids.”

Attitude Of Officers A Setback For “Broken Windows” Style Of Policing

The crimes that have been most affected due to this fear of officers are traffic violations and public drinking and urination. Arrests in other cases have dropped by around 94% as well. The reason for this is personal safety issues, and a general lack of trust between the officers and NY Mayor Bill de Blasio, who the officers think is against them. The worst hit by this stoppage is NYPD Chief Bill Bratton, who had pioneered the “broken windows” style of policing. He believes that cracking down on low-level offenses leads to a drop in more serious crimes.

Effectiveness Of “Broken Windows” Style Of Policing Not Validated

This particular style is policing is a controversial subject, and according to criminologist James Q. Wilson (who is an originator of the theory), there are no conclusive statistics till date that show that a reduction in low level crimes leads to a drop in more serious crimes.