If the NYPD Want to Play That Game

[phantom power]

Another way of making Zandar’s point is to ask whether or not anyone would notice if the New York Police Department suddenly reduced its overall arrests by 66% and its issuance of traffic citations by 94%?

And, if not, would it be fair to say the following?

So your brilliant, devious plan is this: you’re going to show the people who believe that the NYPD is full of power-hungry bullies and paramilitary goons what for by displaying to the country exactly how most of the collars you make are in fact wholly unnecessary exercises of petty microagression towards the citizenry you hold in open and rancorous contempt.

Okay then. Go with that plan, guys.

The way I see it, if the police want to do somewhere between six and thirty-four percent of the work they normally do, then we ought to look very closely to see if it makes any discernible difference or not.

And, if it doesn’t, that’s a great argument for drastically reducing the man-hours of the whole department.

I assume they need to issue traffic citations to raise revenue, but it’ll be interesting to see if there are more traffic accidents or complaints about double-parked cars. Will the street cleaners walk off of the job because no one moves their cars on cleaning day?

The cops serve a vital purpose, but that doesn’t mean that most of what they do isn’t just obnoxious busywork that mainly serves to separate poor people from their money.

Let’s test it out.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2014/12/30/214941/69

[villager]

1. "obnoxious busywork that mainly serves to separate poor people from their money"

Exactly.

[Iggo]

5. "...or their lives."

[calimary]

8. Good one.

[villager]

10. Increasingly, yes.

You'd think they'd stop and realize that would mean fewer people for them to shake down for their operating budgets, if they keep killing off their victims.

[billhicks76]

21. Yes But

It's one thing to pay fines to keep the machine lubricated which sucks but drug offenses carry a record and jail time. Legalize all drugs and I'll put up with the rest as nothing is perfect.

[Scuba]

2. Their "leadership" is brilliantly illustrating how useless and harmful they are.

[calimary]

11. The other problem I see pains me as a union member.

This thug Lynch who's mouthed off and dialed this whole mess up WAY past 11 is doing NOTHING to help his union brothers and sisters. He's doing exactly the things that will piss off the public, AND legislators, when it comes time to renegotiate contracts and pension arrangements and so forth. He's shooting himself not only in the foot but in the mouth and in the wallet. And all his other union brothers and sisters too. He's alienating the public. He's blowing away people in positions of authority who may have to make decisions about a PUBLIC EMPLOYEES UNION - that may not be favorable to them in the years ahead. He's really doing damage to the union movement as a whole. People can now point to him and the petty "protest" other officers pulled the other day during that solemn event for one of the two murdered officers. He's making them all look bad, and encouraging - even fomenting - bad behavior. And that's not gonna end well.

It's gonna shit all over every union from here on. People are gonna think of this petty belligerent goon and think ill of unions in general. Which will hurt the union movement across America - just when we need to be building it back up again! His behavior is free advertising for why we shouldn't bother with unions anymore, because they're now perceived as too in-yer-face, demanding, hostile, and trouble-making. He's made himself into the poster child for that.

Hey, Lynch, buddy - good luck at the next contract negotiations, okay, pal? Watch how far your myopic pugnacious bullshit will get you - and us.

[SunSeeker]

12. Great post. Yup, Lynch gives union chiefs a bad name. nt

[mountain grammy]

22. I agree completely. Good post!

[KingCharlemagne]

25. That's a great post. I've long held that the progressive labor movement in this country

needs to sever all ties of solidarity with these so-called 'police unions' and do it loudly and publicly. The SEIU in Los Angeles, for example has been very successful recently organizing among people of color, notably Latinos. How can it possibly serve their newly organized cadre to associate in any way, shape or form with the very forces (police) who are waging war on their community? Same goes for the AFL-CIO and AFSCME - each should loudly and publicly disavow any association whatseover with these police unions for the same reasons.

[LiberalArkie]

26. He is going to to run for office

[calimary]

31. HAH! Wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I sure smell posturing every time he opens his large and rather cavernous yap.

[Scuba]

32. You are absolutely correct.

[moondust]

34. Yep. Counterproductive.

Unions have had a hard enough time since Reagan without thugs like Lynch popping up and making public enemies out of them. They need to get rid of him and find somebody reasonable and sane with some diplomatic skills.

[calimary]

35. THIS ^^^^

Absolutely. Otherwise he's just shitting on ALL of us union members everywhere. Not just the union brothers and sisters on whose behalf he claims to be "working".

[meow2u3]

39. His rants are intentionally designed to make all unions look bad

and all union leaders look like the thugs he is. It's all a ploy to provoke union busting IMO (I know it sounds tinfoil hat, but that's how I feel).

[calimary]

41. Well, if it's not intentional, then he's not just a loud loutish thug, he's a frickin' IDIOT.

Because he's not thinking any farther than a few minutes down the line. He's not thinking about ANY consequences for his actions. He's not thinking, period. He's just spewing and posturing - and maybe flattering himself into thinking he's a good candidate for future political office.

[Oilwellian]

44. Isn't he meeting with local GOP party members?

Making plans for next month to further attack De Blasio? I'm certain I read that here in the past day or so. If that's true, it certainly gives credence to your thoughts.

[tblue37]

45. They are, in fact, in the process of negotiating a contract right now, and

that is part of the reason for Lynch's bad behavior. He thinks it gives the cops leverage over DeBlasio in the negotiations.

[lsewpershad]

37. After they realize their "gimmick"

is not working or backfiring it would not be a surprise to me if they engineer something to show how much they are needed

[Chemisse]

3. Great! They are performing this experiment for us.

I hope New Yorkers show them they don't really need that level of harassment - umm, I mean enforcement.

[billhicks76]

28. Check This Out...Not A Suprise

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/fed-florida-crowd-forms-human-shield-protect-man-police-try-arrest-smoking

[billhicks76]

29. Citizens Surround Cops Making Petty Marijuana Arrest

Shit is coming down the pike. Thank God I don't live on the East Coast or in the South.

[Tsiyu]

38. LA is no safe zone either

there is brutality in every state.

It really troubles me, too, though, the level of contempt some cops have.

I am worried about a local cop who claimed he thought DiBlasio should be shot. is this goon cop gonna shoot the county mayor if he does something the cop doesn't like?

By saying he thinks DiBlasio should be shot, he is outright claiming he would kill a government figure. Because he didn't like his words. And the amazing thing is, this cop's beat has NO black people around. So why this reaction? I would ask the guy, but dayum, I might get shot.

We live in very frightening times when cops can blatantly salivate over killing our duly elected government officials.

[Flatulo]

4. A broken taillight can lead one directly into financial ruin.

Citations, insurance surcharges, which, when you can't pay them, will lead to loss of license, which will lead to loss of job.

Well done, police state.

[SunSeeker]

13. So true.

My brother lives on the edge as a self-employed handy man. One fix-it ticket and he can't pay his rent.

[Flatulo]

15. The fines for minor violations are absolutely absurd

in Massachusetts. A simple expired registration can cost you a thousand bucks by the time the system is through grinding you up.

[Mr.Bill]

6. Great. If they arrest few enough people,

how long will it be until they have to start laying off their union brother correctional officers?

[randr]

7. The citizens of NYC have one of the highest per capita police forces on the planet

The fines they generate are an important part of the cities economy. If they want to slow down the city will need to consider a reduction of the size of the force. The citizens will have the final say if things go south and we already have a situation where lines have been drawn. We will need more popcorn before this drama plays out.

[TeamPooka]

9. I'm cutting down my crime sprees by 94% too. nt

[Sheepshank]

17. One guy cut down his cigarette selling by 100%...n/t

[TeamPooka]

18. alleged cigarette selling. nt

[Sheepshank]

20. yup, alleged. The miscreant that required a substantial PD takedown. Less for the PD to do already.

[Dustlawyer]

14. Now that the word is out that the cops have decided to take it easy, some bad guys will decide to

take advantage. Any blood they spill will go on Lynch's already dirty hands!

[NotHardly]

27. No Not Actually...

You are presuming a sort of "criminal calculus" that does not exist... never has, never will.

It takes 3 things to commit a crime ... Time, Opportunity & Intent ... and how those things combine, in the minds of the jury as presented with the facts (no sorta stuff), leads to the seriousness of the assessment of the offense and punishment that might be dealt if the person is found responsible.

1) Time ... timing is everything in life. If I plan even a millisecond to commit a crime then my timing has to be such that it presents a window of that opportunity to pull it off

2) Opportunity is not about time, it is about ability... the sheer ability to do a thing. I could intend and have time to crash all the computers in the world but since I do not know how (ability) I can intend and take time till I am 99 years old and I still could not do it. I can write bad checks but I can't electronically screw with the bank. Squeeky Fromm tried to shoot President Ford but she did not know how to release the safety on the 9mm... lack of the opportunity of ability/skill.

3) Intent ... direct and specific for high misdemeanors and felonies, not like running a stop sign that requires only general intent. The circumstances and facts of the event show that which I set into motion ... timing, tools, skills, ability and impact were designed to produce the results that occurred.

So, short story long ... criminals are not great thinkers (stop watching TV & movies as though they are documentaries) ... they are mostly simpletons who try for a fast ride for most frequently minor gains. Therefore, none of them but the bankers & other white-collar criminals do the math or criminal calculus ... so, no, no crime wave.

The NY cops have stopped enforcing minor crap ... and besides, what makes anyone think that enforcing the little stuff isn't the easy way while ignoring the major crimes... what's the homicide solve rate for NY??? Just about 62%... sounds like someone has been taking it easy for quite some time. http://projects.scrippsnews.com/story/state-state-breakdown-homicide-clearance-rates/

[daleanime]

36. Very good points, but you missed one....

want to/need to.

[SunSeeker]

16. No city should rely on fines as operating revenue.

They should tax the rich in New York. And lay off unneeded cops - and correctional officers. With less people in jail, there'll be less spending on safety net programs made necessary by parents sitting in jail. Hell, they might not need to raise taxes on the rich all that much if the societal costs of the NYPD police state are brought down.

[abakan]

19. It seems they are making a perfect argument for a reduction in force.

Work stoppage because their panties are in a wad is childish. Maybe the crybabies should get a job that doesn't include guns, they might feel safer. I know the citizens would.

[Adam051188]

23. typical union thuggery.

nothing more, nothing less.

how does this end again? i forget....

[freebrew]

24. Absolutely necessary...

local town got rid of their PD, nothing happened. No one killed, no one robbed and most important...

No one harassed or intimidated by the cops.

Amazin' isn't it?

[Stellar]

30. I totally agree!

Another way of making Zandar’s point is to ask whether or not anyone would notice if the New York Police Department suddenly reduced its overall arrests by 66% and its issuance of traffic citations by 94%?

Illinois is eliminating traffic tickets quotas. That's a good thing. LOL, no more lame excuses.



http://www.chicagonow.com/chicagos-real-law-blog/2014/07/no-more-ticket-quotas-for-illinois-cops/

[pansypoo53219]

33. in denmark where they have enough taxes to pay for govt. in almost a month. i did not SEE a cop nor

hear a siren. on the highways i did not see ANY 'sheriff'. people did speed, but not many. each mile or so there was a phone for emergencies. LOW TAXES have created this as well.

[SunSeeker]

40. Yes, low taxes, especially on the rich/corporations, are part of the problem.

The poor and middle class pay a higher percentage of their income on taxes (especially sales taxes) than the rich. I include petty fines that disproportionately affect the poor in the definition of taxes to the extent they are used to pay for the daily operations of government, like it does in NYC.

And you are so right about Denmark. It is pretty clear they spend their taxes on stuff people actually need, like public transportation, education and childcare. It obviously cuts down on the need for cops.

[pokerfan]

43. Matt Taibbi has a good article on this

Furious at embattled mayor Bill de Blasio, and at what Police Benevolent Association chief Patrick Lynch calls a "hostile anti-police environment in the city," the local officers are simply refusing to arrest or ticket people for minor offenses – such arrests have dropped off a staggering 94 percent, with overall arrests plunging 66 percent.

If you're wondering exactly what that means, the Post is reporting that the protesting police have decided to make arrests "only when they have to." (Let that sink in for a moment. Seriously, take 10 or 15 seconds).

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-nypds-work-stoppage-is-surreal-20141231#ixzz3NX1E8w45

I would hope that any LEO would only make an arrest when they have to but that's just me.

[Leith]

46. Were There Any Reports of Increased Crime

in Times Square last night?

I was watching the CNN New Year's Eve show and I made a special point to check in the background for police presence, "incidents" in the crowd, and the like. I saw a few guys in uniforms with yellow reflective tape, but it was impossible to tell if they were police or security guards.

Serious question: New Year's in Times Square seems like it would be the perfect time to show the world the necessity of police in NYC. Has anyone heard anything along those lines? Were there more pickpockets or fights? Anything?

[2banon]

47. Matt Taibbi cuts to the heart of the matter..

thanks for posting this..