I was a cop for twenty years; there were always "quotas" but they didn't become a severe threat until Rudy got in and even he didn't impose them severely until he was sure all the "layoff" personell had either retired or become finally compliant and "team players". That was in '95, a good two years into his term. That cop with the tape is finished on the "job". I think he's a hero; I had to give out more bogus "tickets" and make more trivial "get on the sheet" arrests in my last couple of years than my conscience cares to elaborate on. I listened to the tapes and it's all coming back; they want--no, they demand-- arrests and summonses that mean business, "revenue" or "product". It's all stats; fudged, made-up, used-car salesmen stuff. But the worst thing of all is that they get away with it, and nobody cares. It's infuriating how they still deny the "quota" issue and use semantics to distort it. I can tell you why there are no cops on patrol but there isn't enough space here. I just hope the PBA follows up on this unfair labor practice that's been used and manipulated for years.

john reaches a new low in his hate for democracy. john light is the greatest disinfectant. not everyone who you disagree with should be put to death. we don't do that in this country.

But these are the "heroes" of 9/11 (sniffle, sniffle, weep, weep) How dare you!

I work in lower Manhattan. There are frequent "drills" on Church street where I have counted over 40 squad cars and hundreds of officers standing around, smoking, texting, waiting. No wonder there is a shortage of officers in the precincts in the outer boroughs.

Aaron
hush!

Brian, I wonder what gems we would get if we recorded your conversations around the water cooler or at meetings. I am sure it would all not be wonderful.

This cop is a disgrace to the uniform and his fellow officers. The avaerage cop is just a average Joe, trying to do a thankless Job.

I hope this traitor has an accident.

It's too bad the Bed-Stuy precint can barely afford to send out one squad car when I see tons of cops in my very safe area of Williamsburg all the time.

Wait a minute. You can't tell if these practices are "effective" just by seeing if the stats are down. Crime could be reduced for other reasons, & I remember several years back some guests were saying it had more to do w/population changes--people aging out of the age range when most crimes are committed.

One person who REFUSES to do more with less is Bloomberg himself. And he rejects the notion that the rich should do more with less. Bloomberg's fortune continues to balloon. He rejects increasing taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.

Only the poor and middle classes are actually forced to do more with less.

I know cops and they are told hit those number.
the question I have is why not? why shouldn't cops find law breakers? I'm paying them to do a job. I don't want drivers driving while on cell phones it’s unsafe and dangerous.

I'd like to know if there is a quota for motorcyclists because I've heard numerous reports of riders being stopped and fined for trivial matters, such as having ones visor (helmet windshield) cracked open.

I know this is trivial compared to more serious matters involving race or what have you, but if one rides a motorcycle, as I do, it's infuriating to be fined for nonsense.

You can fudge the murder rate, ME included.
- It's 'harder' to kill people thanks to vast improvements in EMS & trauma treatment over the last 40 years.
- So you'll end up with more wounded victims - namely, attempted murder. Which can be classified as aggravated assault.
- Aggravated assault rates are relatively high in NY, closer to Chicago or LA, which have of course much higher murder rates.

I had my car broken into on 11th Street in the Village. The car window was broken.
I called it into the 6th Precinct. They said they would send a squad card. In 20 minutes. After 1 hour no squad car. I drove the car to the 6th Precinct to file a complaint.
The Desk Officer looked annoyed and asked what had been stolen. I reported that a small calculator was taken. He responded are you kidding, no one files a complaint for that.
I left. The window cost me $1,000 to replace.
New York’s finest.

My friend "Kelly" has told me exactly what your guest is saying. Among the specifics, finding the body of a murder victim and finding a reason to call it an accidental death.

This is what I've learned about the NYPD. They're selective about the arrests they choose to make. More than once, I was a Grand Juror in the Bronx, What I found out was 98% of all cases being brought to us for indictment were for small time sales of heroin.

I knew then and I know now, these are not the only crimes occurring in the borough.

if you want to know what to cut in the NYC budget look at the NYPD
brian should do a segment about waste in the PD

So Michael Bloomberg and Ray Kelly are applying the same testing by the numbers regimen that the city is applying to kids in schools.

Everything by the numbers. Test test test. Pass or fail.

What a mess.

I have to say, I recently made a grand larceny complaint and I was never able to get a police report the next day and thereafter. "The system is down."

Sure.

I spoke with my 16 year old son about the VV article (quotas, 250s, furtive movements, and how the stats are cheated down as per the Mayor's Office).
It's shameful that on balance I can't assure him that the police are there to help him if he is ever in trouble. Because of his age, I feel the need to warn him about the overzealous behavior of police, fueled by, in the most sympathetic reading, their own job security fears, and by racism and stereotypes (teenagers are all bad) at the most discouraging read. After the truck bomb incident I warned him not to watch out for idling SUVs around his school (midtown), but for police who would be adrenaline-charged and likely packing more punch in their high school ID checks (which I am told can be very nasty and aggressive). On the flip side, how can a police officer do the job properly and without corruption with such pressures to inflate or deflate numbers (and by default ignore folks who may need help or incite a problem where there is none)? What honest person will want to be a police officer?