NYPD Makes Detailed Crime Statistics Available To Public As Bratton Denies Arrest Quota Allegations
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The NYPD has made public a tool that maps a week's worth of crime throughout the five boroughs.
As 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported, the city's CompStat 2.0 program is a combination of accountability and technology.
"We want people to know what's going on in the neighborhoods and we want them to see the efforts of the police to address problems; we want that transparency," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Previously, crime data was available on the NYPD's website but only contained categories of major crime, like rape, robbery and murder. Now, the data contains the date, time and specific type of crime.
The mayor said information gives power to the public.
"Certainly for our residents to know what's going on so they can be part of the solution," he said.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said the system pinpoints crime, trends, and now anyone can look up the information easily.
"The public will actually be getting the information that's discussed every Thursday morning here at the Compstat room on the eighth floor a day before it's actually discussed by the police leaders," Bratton said.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Jessica Tisch explained that rape locations will be reported at the nearest intersection.
"This was chosen to ensure victim privacy, but also to give the public a better sense than they have in the past of where these crimes are occurring," Tisch said.
Another technological improvement: smartphones are allowing police officers to respond to crimes even before the police radio can dispatch the call, according to Bratton.
A variation of the tool is also on the new smartphones being distributed to patrol officers. The devices contain customized software and mobile apps to provide police with easy access to information.
But when Bratton was pressed about whether the NYPD could use the Compstat data as a quota system for arrests and tickets, the police commissioner lashed out, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
"Bulls**t, I said bulls**t is my response to that, quite clearly," Bratton said.
Bratton defended CompStat, saying his management personnel push quality, not quantity when it comes to arrests, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"If any of my cops out there still thinks we're pushing for the summonses etc, I'm sorry we're pushing to reduce crime," Bratton continued.
The NYPD is being sued by a number of minority officers, one in particular is claiming they are required to meet fixed numerical goals -- quotas -- for arrests and summonses, Kramer reported.
"That officer -- one of 36,000 -- that may be his impression, he's entitled to that impression, but those are not the practices, policies and procedures that I'm putting into this organization," said Bratton.
The commissioner's comments come as the city is on edge over a nearly 21 percent increase in the number of slashings and stabbings since the beginning of 2016.
"Shootings and murders are down, so you've lost interest in them. When was the last time any of you reported on that?" Bratton said defensively. "If it bleeds, it leads."
The mayor and police commissioner have been trying to tamp down public fear by pointing out that only a handful of stabbings and slashings were random.
"I fully understand many New Yorkers are concerned," said de Blasio. "I think what people are very concerned about is could something happen to them randomly. The facts presented there have been over 500 slashings, stabbings, etc, this year, only seven were identified as anything that could even be random."
The mayor said the NYPD is well equipped to handle the situation.
"This is the finest police force in the country. They have driven down crime for years," de Blasio said. "The thing that scares people, which is a random slashing, thank God is very, very rare."
The latest NYPD figures indicate there have been 578 stabbings and slashings incidents in New York City since Jan. 1. But officials pointed out that if you stabbed your wife with a fork at the dinner table and called police, that would also be reported as a stabbing, Kramer reported.
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