Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Paul Browne: "police officers...are provided productivity goals."
Two separate media sources have turned up accusations of New York City police using quotas to make arrests or manipulating records to show crime has gone down. WABC-TV interviewed police officer Adil Polanco, who said precinct commanders have pressured cops to make more arrests and give out more summonses.
“Our primary job is not to help anybody, our primary job is not to assist anybody, our primary job is to get those numbers and come back with them?” said Polanco.
Paul J. Browne, NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner for Public Information, would only say that, “Police officers, like others who receive compensation, are provided productivity goals and they are expected to work.”
Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reported that a Brooklyn precinct is under investigation for doctoring statistics to make local police look better. The allegations include changing felonies to misdemeanors and ignoring citizens’ complaints, all in an effort to show crime is dropping.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
NYPD Officer Claims Pressure to Make Arrests (by Jim Hoffer, WABC-TV New York)
Brooklyn's 81st Precinct Probed by NYPD for Fudging Stats; Felonies Allegedly Marked as Misdemeanors (by Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News)
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