Earlier this week, the NYPD announced with great fanfare that thanks to the efforts of thousands of uniformed and civilian officers who make up the agency, the Big Apple is now the safest big city in the United States and has successfully combated crime. According to the authorities, “murders, robberies, thefts and grand larcenies continue to decline monthly throughout the city,” as does crime on the subway system.
Police said the reduction in major crimes continued for the eighth consecutive month, with a 6.4% decrease, from 11,618 in August 2023 to 10,869 the previous month. Crime in the metro fell from 1,4791 incidents to 1,398, representing a 5.5% decrease.
“Citywide, serious crime is down 2.3% year-to-date compared to the first eight months of last year and in August, across all five boroughs, the murder category saw the largest decline, with 17 fewer murders (15 vs. 32), a sizable reduction of 53.1%,” the police said, explaining that “much of the continued reductions in violence and disorder can be attributed to the NYPD’s numerous law enforcement initiatives resulting in seizures of illegal weapons.”
And while the police report could be a reason for widespread recognition of their work, with other figures, their management was put on the spot. Civil rights organizations put the data of the new report of the Independent Federal Monitor of the New York City Police Department under the spotlight, which concludes that the NYPD has not complied with the mandates ordered by the courts to reform abusive practices of control, in stops, interrogations, searches and raids.
The report highlights that despite a federal court-appointed independent monitor in 2013 to oversee ordered changes within the NYPD and its procedures, racially discriminatory and unconstitutional practices continue.
“It has been more than a decade since a federal court found that the NYPD was violating the rights of Black and Latino New Yorkers through its stop, question and frisk practices, and the Department has yet to remedy these violations,” said Charles McLaurin, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund.
The defense attorney stressed that it is urgent for the NYPD to fully comply with the reforms ordered by the court and urged the police to view this commitment as a top priority in order to avoid future constitutional violations.
“Yet officers fail to report their encounters with New Yorkers and continue to abuse their authority by taking enforcement actions that go beyond the bounds of the law. The NYPD must be held accountable for its mistreatment of New Yorkers, especially Black and Latino New Yorkers who bear the brunt of this unlawful conduct,” McLaurin said. “The Monitor’s report demonstrates that the NYPD has a long way to go to end its stop, frisk and search practices in compliance with the Constitution and federal oversight.”
According to the findings presented by the Federal Monitor report, some NYPD practices continue to violate the rights of communities of color and immigrants. Proof of this is that officers did not file the required reports in 31.4% of the stops audited by the Monitor, and it was also reported that reported unconstitutional stops increased from 10.6% of stops in 2021 to 11.3% in 2022.
The situation for accidents looks worse in terms of unconstitutional searches, which according to the data, increased by more than 50% between 2021 and 2022, going from 15.8% to 23.9%. Illegal searches increased by almost 50%, from 20.4% in 2021 to 29.9% in 2022.
The Monitor also found that specialized NYPD units, such as Neighborhood Safety Teams (NST), which have been accused of policing practices that harm Black and Latino New Yorkers, are involved in the majority of illegal stops, frisks, and searches, and that NYPD misconduct continued into the first quarter of 2023.
Jennvine Wong, a supervising attorney for The Legal Aid Society, an organization that joined the complaints, insisted that the police cannot hide the sun with a finger, and demanded that they once and for all put an end to abusive practices and follow what the courts have ordered.
“The NYPD’s years-long failure to end unconstitutional stops, frisks and searches used to harass and abuse Black and Brown New Yorkers is an absolute disgrace,” she said. “The fact that the Department has done so little over the course of a decade to implement court-ordered reforms is inexcusable and demonstrates an utter lack of concern for the rights, dignity and humanity of people of color.”
Wong called on NYPD leadership to commit to ending what she called “racist and unconstitutional stop-and-frisk practices” and called for all members of the NYPD “at all levels” to be held accountable.
The NY Daily consulted the NYPD about the complaints and how the agency can maintain security in the Big Apple and put an end to alleged abusive practices. The police mentioned that they carry out their protective duties and fight crime effectively in accordance with the law and the Constitution.
“Public safety and constitutional policing are fundamental components of the NYPD’s mission, and members of the Department work tirelessly, every day, to keep people safe and to police fairly,” said an NYPD spokesperson, who added that although the agency has already made several internal changes, it is committed to reviewing the complaints filed by the Monitor.
“The Department is proud that New York remains the safest large city in the United States and of the reforms it has made, which the Monitor has recognized,” the police spokesperson said. “The NYPD is committed to working collaboratively with the Monitor to address the areas of concern raised in this latest report.”
Among the achievements of the police force, the agency mentioned that thanks to its practices, from January 1 to August 31, 4,473 illegal firearms have been removed from the streets of New York, 532 of them in the last month alone, and shootings have been reduced by 8.5% so far this year.
“Much of the NYPD’s success is due to rigorous law enforcement on the streets and in the subway system, short- and long-term investigations that disrupt the “iron pipeline” responsible for funneling illegal guns into New York City from other states, and the dismantling of local gangs and gangs,” they added.
“The sharp and continuing declines in shootings and murders in New York City are a testament to the hard work put in day and night by the dedicated men and women of this police department,” said Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “Whether they are patrol officers patrolling inside a housing project or seasoned detectives working on some of the most complex investigations in the world, NYPD officers understand this basic truth: fewer guns in the hands of criminals means safer neighborhoods and a better quality of life for all New Yorkers.”
NYPD misconduct reported
- The New York Police Department still fails to enforce the 14th Amendment, despite a federal court finding that its stop-and-frisk practices violate the 14th Amendment rights of Black and Latino New Yorkers
- NYPD officers failed to file required reports in 31.4% of stops audited by the Monitor, demonstrating a failure to comply with a key component of court-ordered reforms
- Reported unconstitutional arrests increased from 10.6% of arrests in 2021 to 11.3% in 2022
- Unconstitutional searches increased by more than 50% between 2021 and 2022, from 15.8% to 23.9%
- Illegal registrations increased by almost 50%, from 20.4% in 2021 to 29.9% in 2022
- Specialized units, such as Neighborhood Safety Teams (NST), which have received significant criticism for their policing practices that harm Black and Latino New Yorkers, are involved in the majority of illegal stops, frisks and searches.
- NYPD noncompliance continued into the first quarter of 2023, according to existing data analyzed by the Monitor