Bratton Stands Up To Critics Ahead Of State Of NYPD Address
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton will deliver his state of the NYPD address Wednesday morning.
Ahead of the speech, Bratton penned an op-ed in the Daily News in which he defended his department and said the force is winning the battle against crime.
Bratton has faced his share of criticism as police commissioner and he's hitting back at critics on both sides, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.
"Voices on the right have said that crime in New York City is raging out of control because of a steep decline in street stops. Voices on the left have said that the NYPD is criminalizing huge numbers of minority citizens with too many stops, summonses and arrests, especially for minor crimes," Bratton wrote.
"Between these two gross exaggerations stands the truth. The police department I run is continuing to manage and control crime," Bratton added. "Simultaneously, we have cut back hugely on enforcement encounters with citizens."
Bratton said in the mayor's first two years in office there's been a nearly 6 percent decline in overall crime; while murder was up nearly 6 percent in 2015, Bratton points out that's compared with a 58-year record low the year before.
He adds in 2015, the NYPD recorded more than a million fewer enforcement encounters compared with the highs of the previous decade.
The police commissioner has faced criticism from many in the minority community, especially those who want him to do away with "broken windows" policing, or cracking down on minor crimes to ultimately stop larger crimes from happening.
The op-ed comes just a few weeks after a public feud with former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who accused his successor of cooking the books on crime stats to make the city appear safer than it is.
Bratton and the NYPD adamantly deny the charges.
A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found Bratton with a 57 percent approval rating, and Kelly with a 60 percent approval rating. Most voters also said Kelly was more effective.
