Cop claims Bronx precinct ruled by illegal system of zealous arrest quotas

[n2doc]

BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA AND RICH SCHAPIRO

A veteran NYPD cop claims his beleaguered Bronx precinct is ruled by an elaborate quota system that has created so much tension that cops now guard the locker room.

In a federal lawsuit, Officer Craig Matthews charges the illegal quotas in place at the 42nd precinct have led to harsh punishments and pitted cops against each other.

Some officers who complied with the quotas have had their lockers damaged, vandalized and even placed in the shower, the suit says.

In a bid to stem the outbreak of “locker flipping,” on-duty cops now guard the locker room around the clock, the suit says.

Central to the quota system are color-coded computer reports that categorize cops by the number of arrests, summonses and stop-and-frisks they carry out.

Officers who fail to meet the reports are highlighted in red.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/claims-bronx-precinct-ruled-illegal-system-zealous-arrest-quotas-article-1.1027625

[saras]

1. Even the cops are acting like high school students - from the top down

I hear the chimps are getting smarter. They'd better hurry up, their time is coming really fast.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Seriously, the NYPD is out of control and needs effective civilian oversight.

One drug-related corruption story after another.

Killing people over a bag of weed, like Ramarley Graham:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/nyregion/police-unit-faces-scrutiny-after-ramarley-grahams-death-in-the-bronx.html?pagewanted=all

Beating up OWS protestors

Violating the state's marijuana decriminalization law by charging people with a misdemeanor and throwing them in jail for an average of a day--50,000 times a year last year.

Stopping and frisking hundreds of thousands of young people of color with no probable cause.

Spying on Muslim students well outside the city limits

Foreign offices all around the world.

Who exercises political control over the NYPD? Whoever it is, they're not doing a very good job.

[malaise]

5. Just remember one name

Bloomberg

[Black and Gold]

3. ...

Why does it matter how many people they arrest? What is the incentive for them to arrest people?

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. and yet....

that same color coded system of ranking performance was highlighted ( no pun intended) as a useful measurement tool in The Wire,
the very highly rated tv series which provided a realistic look at detectives.

I am not sure if this story is about a valid measurement tool or a a much maligned type of quota system.