Killings Surge in North Bronx, Testing New Police Tactics

[Via Garibaldi 8]

 

Killings Surge in North Bronx, Testing New Police Tactics

By J. DAVID GOODMAN

 

MAY 18, 2014

 

Photo

 

Police tape and a reward sign for information on a recent homicide remain on a fence in the North Bronx.

 

A teenager gunned down next to a Bronx playground. A U-Haul truck riddled with bullets after a deadly shootout that involved as many as five gunmen. A tattooed 25-year-old from Massachusetts executed, with three shots to the head, one to the back, on a housing project roof.

“Bury me with Satan,” one tattoo read.

The seasonal return of gun violence — a foreign idea to some New Yorkers but a familiar one in the city’s crime-troubled communities — has come early this year to the northernmost neighborhoods of the Bronx: eight killings, five this month, compared with a single murder at this time last year. The number of shootings has nearly doubled.

For residents, it is a grim departure from the trend in most of the city, where the homicide rate continues its decline, and an alarming omen of what the summer may bring.

“This is the just the beginning,” said Darion Ennis, 30, who found himself running with his mother and children this month after shooting erupted in the playground across the street from their East 215th Street home, days before the killing next to that playground.

For the New York Police Department, the surge in violence in the 47th Precinct, which extends from East Gun Hill Road to the border with Mount Vernon, N.Y., presents an early field test for CommissionerWilliam J. Bratton’s hands-off approach to local commanders.

 

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/19/nyregion/killings-surge-in-north-bronx-testing-new-police-tactics.html?_r=0

Everyone bashed the Bloomberg administration for their effective crime fighting tools, but as predicted, the De Blasio camp doesn't have a clue of how to deal with crime, and he's barely into his first term... The above just goes to show what is needed in this city to keep crime from spiraling out of control in neighborhoods like these in the Northeast Bronx.

[realizm]

Well the idea was to get the rookies out of these neighborhoods and place experienced veteran cops in high crime areas - that was one of the problems the NYPD was not doing during the Bloomberg administration under Raymond Kelly. I can see your pov at this point of the game however, Bratton better hurry up and keep his promises.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I'm more curious about what they're going to do deal with the problem? If they're not going to employ Stop & Frisk, then that means they'll have to have more cops on the beat and with the city spending an arm and a leg on other issues, I'm not sure where the money would come from for more officers.  This was always my question to those who opposed Stop & Frisk.  Okay, fine, but what do you do to address the crime problem? So far there seems to be no answer... 

 

I honestly predict things to get worse... Jobs are still tough to get especially in neighborhoods like these... The Bronx has an unemployment rate that's almost double that of other places in the city at around 14%.  In contrast, other areas of the city, with low employment maintain very low crime.  Here in Riverdale for example, the unemployment rate is very low, something like 4% if that and we haven't had any real issues with crime. The other issue is what is De Blasio going to do to create jobs?  His tactics to create affordable housing won't matter if people can't find jobs.

[traingoat]

I'm more curious about what they're going to do deal with the problem? If they're not going to employ Stop & Frisk, then that means they'll have to have more cops on the beat and with the city spending an arm and a leg on other issues, I'm not sure where the money would come from for more officers.  This was always my question to those who opposed Stop & Frisk.  Okay, fine, but what do you do to address the crime problem? So far there seems to be no answer... 

 

I honestly predict things to get worse... Jobs are still tough to get especially in neighborhoods like these... The Bronx has an unemployment rate that's almost double that of other places in the city at around 14%.  In contrast, other areas of the city, with low employment maintain very low crime.  Here in Riverdale for example, the unemployment rate is very low, something like 4% if that and we haven't had any real issues with crime. The other issue is what is De Blasio going to do to create jobs?  His tactics to create affordable housing won't matter if people can't find jobs.

Its a game my friend where the left view of the issue means a bunch of people get killed so be it. You know this was going to happen as it has nothing to do with the unemployment rate but the narcotics traffic involved. So they make a case for more Federal or state funding because crime is rampant.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Its a game my friend where the left view of the issue means a bunch of people get killed so be it. You know this was going to happen as it has nothing to do with the unemployment rate but the narcotics traffic involved. So they make a case for more Federal or state funding because crime is rampant.

I would beg to differ.  Young adults, teens and other adults looking for work that can't find it in these neighborhoods... What are they going to do?   If anything, this just gives them an excuse to justify their behavior.

[traingoat]

I would beg to differ.  Young adults, teens and other adults looking for work that can't find it in these neighborhoods... What are they going to do?   If anything, this just gives them an excuse to justify their behavior.

Look the left doesn't care and never has The killings and everything else will be blamed on society not their actions. So they will make that place a police state with cameras from one end to the other with audio gunshot detectors as the police must be fully reactive not proactive. Its a game. Seen this game before and know the outcome.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Look the left doesn't care and never has The killings and everything else will be blamed on society not their actions. So they will make that place a police state with cameras from one end to the other with audio gunshot detectors as the police must be fully reactive not proactive. Its a game. Seen this game before and know the outcome.

Well it's a game that I guess the people who voted for De Blasio wanted...

[CenSin]

I get the feeling that some people don't like stop & frisk, but if they actually lived in these neighborhood, they would give up their liberties in a heartbeat for the feeling of safety. The guns are there. Do we want to look for them, or wait until it's been used?

[realizm]

Well it's a game that I guess the people who voted for De Blasio wanted...

 

Never voted for DeBlasio. As I said in the prior post, I really do not trust politicians. I could care less if its Vladimir Putin I wouldnt vote for him either. If it was Ron Paul I wouldn't vote for him. I have many reasons why; not to exclude the fact that its not the individual vote that elects politicians into stations of office.

 

As for the stop and frisk policy, my qualms with it was that the policy was abused, not that it doesn't work, in the sense of racial profiling, alot of these rookies seriously got out of hand with the the stop and frisk policy. That was what created the controversy we have seen since last year whe it got hot in Manhattan Supreme Court.

I get the feeling that some people don't like stop & frisk, but if they actually lived in these neighborhood, they would give up their liberties in a heartbeat for the feeling of safety. The guns are there. Do we want to look for them, or wait until it's been used?

 

Well again as long as the racial profiling element is eliminated then yes the stop and frisk policy would indeed be effective and should continue. Alot of these cops f**ked up as I were saying by stopping people based on race unfairly proven by statistics analyzed. Thats the problem, not the policy in itself. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

As for the stop and frisk policy, my qualms with it was that the policy was abused, not that it doesn't work, in the sense of racial profiling, alot of these rookies seriously got out of hand with the the stop and frisk policy. That was what created the controversy we have seen since last year whe it got hot in Manhattan Supreme Court.

 

 

Well again as long as the racial profiling element is eliminated then yes the stop and frisk policy would indeed be effective and should continue. Alot of these cops f**ked up as I were saying by stopping people based on race unfairly proven by statistics analyzed. Thats the problem, not the policy in itself. 

Then you go back to whole question of how do you determine who looks suspicious and who doesn't, which was what was used when Stop & Frisk was implemented previously.

[realizm]

Then you go back to whole question of how do you determine who looks suspicious and who doesn't, which was what was used when Stop & Frisk was implemented previously.

 

Which is what the NYPD needs to work on for this to work. For example, say the TSA at a security checkpoint at the airport who assume every other person of middleeastern descent is a terrorist is not to way to go here. Going back to the NYPD now: If now a person is indeed legitimately showing displays of suspicious activity leading to a crime regardless of skin color then thats a different story.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Which is what the NYPD needs to work on for this to work. For example, say the TSA at a security checkpoint at the airport who assume every other person of middleeastern descent is a terrorist is not to way to go here. Going back to the NYPD now: If now a person is indeed legitimately showing displays of suspicious activity leading to a crime regardless of skin color then thats a different story.

Well that's my point... I don't see how you implement it without pissing someone off... Blacks and Latinos said they were targeted too much... Whites said they were stopped too much, so basically it's a no win situation.  Someone is going to complain about racism, which is why they really aren't using it, so now the problem what do you use, and that's their main issue now.

[traingoat]

Well that's my point... I don't see how you implement it without pissing someone off... Blacks and Latinos said they were targeted too much... Whites said they were stopped too much, so basically it's a no win situation.  Someone is going to complain about racism, which is why they really aren't using it, so now the problem what do you use, and that's their main issue now.

Now you know why I called it a game. The facts from the FBI stats are alarming. Blacks make up 1/8 the population but commit 45% of the crime and 55% of the homicides. In NYC who is doing the killing Blacks and Hispanics which is 98% of the killing. So why jack up a white guy in Forest Hills, no reason as the white killings are either domestic violence or mob hits. The lives being saved are minorities but the minorities are flipping a bitch. I remember back because of age with Dinkins administration and the homicide rates soared and the place became murder capital of the US and this caused Rudy to be elected and the same groups which were doing the killing howled by his tactics but the crime rate dropped. So this new tactic of leaving it to the Precinct Captain gives cover for the politicians and the Commish as the Captain failed not my policies for the failure. Sounds like DC doesn't it.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Now you know why I called it a game. The facts from the FBI stats are alarming. Blacks make up 1/8 the population but commit 45% of the crime and 55% of the homicides. In NYC who is doing the killing Blacks and Hispanics which is 98% of the killing. So why jack up a white guy in Forest Hills, no reason as the white killings are either domestic violence or mob hits. The lives being saved are minorities but the minorities are flipping a bitch. I remember back because of age with Dinkins administration and the homicide rates soared and the place became murder capital of the US and this caused Rudy to be elected and the same groups which were doing the killing howled by his tactics but the crime rate dropped. So this new tactic of leaving it to the Precinct Captain gives cover for the politicians and the Commish as the Captain failed not my policies for the failure. Sounds like DC doesn't it.

lol... These are facts that everyone knows but likes to ignore.  It's easier to play the victim than to accept responsibility isn't it?

[traingoat]

lol... These are facts that everyone knows but likes to ignore.  It's easier to play the victim than to accept responsibility isn't it?

Always has been.

[CenSin]

A few years back Microsoft announced an app that would steer people away from dangerous areas. Immediately, the minority representatives (such as those from the NAACP) complained about possible discrimination. They went as far a holding a rally on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

 

Microsoft says the app will use crime statistics to determine what parts of town are to be avoided. But it’s unclear where the data will come from and how it will be interpreted.

Source: App That Would Guide Users Away From High-Crime Areas Proves Controversial by CBS / ©2014 CBS Local Media

 

It's not clear if the app was ever released from then to now, but the swift outcry from certain groups before the app was even available to the public is quite telling about the groups' perception of themselves. Yet, it should not be taken as an admission of guilt or agreement with the statistics. So there are a few possibilities…

 

Possibility #1: the crime statistics are right but they are the victims of racial bias.

This means law enforcement has been chasing after minority groups overzealously even though they are committing most of the crimes. For example (and an extremely oversimplified one): Caucasians commit 20% of the crimes while African-Americans commit 80%, but law enforcement focuses 95% of the attention on African-Americans, while dedicating 5% to Caucasians. That's racial bias, and effort and resources should be reallocated to reflect the actual statistics—just not based on this one dimension! A lot of variables determine an individual's predisposition to committing crime and they include (but are not limited to): location, because being in a location where crime is known to be high makes an individual's business in the area questionable; income, because poor people are more likely to mug than rich people; family background and neighborhood, because being nurtured in an environment that promotes crime or misery raises criminals; previous history of crime, because recidivism rates are high for certain groups. So, by these standards, a sleazily-dressed Caucasian teen walking around Gun Hill Road during school hours should be pulled over immediately and searched.

 

Possibility #2: the crime statistics are right and they are not victims of racial bias.

This insinuates that the minorities are playing the victim card when they have no basis to accuse law enforcement of discrimination. In this case, the groups should stop complaining and let law enforcement do their jobs efficiently by continuing to devote the right right amount of effort and resources to each region. Instead, they should focus on getting funding for programs that improve their communities and actually make a dent in the statistics!

 

Possibility #3: the crime statistics are wrong and they are victims of racial bias.

This is absolutely frightening, because if it is true that ⅛ of the population is African-American, and true that most of them have been fairly judged and imprisoned, but false that they commit nearly ½ of the homocides, then the implication is that there are far more homocides that are committed by non-African-Americans, most of whom have not been apprehended because law enforcement is busy examining the wrong people! This could only distort the statistics further, giving the wrong impression of crime rates for different groups.

 

 

By the way, where are the actual statistics? We can't be entertaining conjecture.

[traingoat]

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-43

 

 

This is from 2011 but going thru the FBI stats you can find them about any year.

[realizm]

Possibility #3: the crime statistics are wrong and they are victims of racial bias.

This is absolutely frightening, because if it is true that ⅛ of the population is African-American, and true that most of them have been fairly judged and imprisoned, but false that they commit nearly ½ of the homocides, then the implication is that there are far more homocides that are committed by non-African-Americans, most of whom have not been apprehended because law enforcement is busy examining the wrong people! This could only distort the statistics further, giving the wrong impression of crime rates for different groups.

 

By the way, where are the actual statistics? We can't be entertaining conjecture.

 

This is what I am basing my arguement not just from a humaritian view but also on data: http://www.nyclu.org/content/stop-and-frisk-data

 

It states:

 

"In the first quarter of 2014, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 14,261 times.

11,573 were totally innocent (81 percent).

7,535 were black (54 percent).

4,013 were Latino (29 percent).

1,694 were white (12 percent)."

 

So that means that out of the 14,261 people stopped and frisked 11,573 people were cleared. 7,535 of those were black, and 4,013 were Latino out of those stopped and frisked. that amounts up to 11548 people of color or 83% of the persons or 9 out of ten people stopped and frisked were actually innocent of unlawful conduct while only a fraction of those stopped and frisked overall (regardless of race because the data doesnt reveal that particular) is actually minute.

 

The data is actually extracted from the NYPD's own crime data reports up to this year as of March 2014.

 

http://www.nyclu.org/files/2014_1st_Qtr.pdf

 

 

Therefore my consensus is that as long as the racial profiling involved in the stop and frisk model based on the broken window threory is monitored, then the stop and frisk policy can still work along with moves as in shifting of veteran cops to high crime areas where they will be more effective in detering crime.

 

 

[QM1to6Ave]

The Community Affairs division of the NYPD is underutilized in helping prevent crime, according to a cop friend of mine. He told me that Community Affairs cops used to go out and get at-risk kids to join the NYPD teen internship and explorer programs, which helped set some kids on the right path and improve community-police relations, but after 9/11 everyone became so focused on terrorism that these programs got cut.

[qjtransitmaster]

I would beg to differ.  Young adults, teens and other adults looking for work that can't find it in these neighborhoods... What are they going to do?   If anything, this just gives them an excuse to justify their behavior.

Or move to Texas for work. And commute by greyhound bus.

[traingoat]

Or move to Texas for work. And commute by greyhound bus.

Problem is the system is geared to keep them impoverished for political points.

The Community Affairs division of the NYPD is underutilized in helping prevent crime, according to a cop friend of mine. He told me that Community Affairs cops used to go out and get at-risk kids to join the NYPD teen internship and explorer programs, which helped set some kids on the right path and improve community-police relations, but after 9/11 everyone became so focused on terrorism that these programs got cut.

Community relations only works with youth when you have an educational system that works. You don't have a school system that operates and the lure of the street is stronger than any CR program.

[QM1to6Ave]

Community relations only works with youth when you have an educational system that works. You don't have a school system that operates and the lure of the street is stronger than any CR program.

So true, sadly

[realizm]

Problem is the system is geared to keep them impoverished for political points.

Community relations only works with youth when you have an educational system that works. You don't have a school system that operates and the lure of the street is stronger than any CR program.

 

That is a disturbing fact that cannot be denied. Much of the problem has to do with the facts pertaining to the costs of being trapped in poverty. Many kids in impoverished homes and families hard hit by this aspect of an unbalanced oligarchic based economy are desperate to find relief. They end up lured into the gangs seeking an escape towards a imagined sense of monetary prosperity. Unfortunately it is really a trap.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Excuses, excuses...

[realizm]

More like facts. This is not a fragment of the imagination.