Hi Michael

lol @ jenjen

Dale,
Smart move on getting identity theft protection. I did the same thing about 2 yrs ago when I purchased Lifelock. I love it. Now I worry less when shopping online, losing my purse, or even when I travel overseas. I recommend that everyone get it. As a contracted representative of Lifelock I can offer everyone in this community 10% off on service at http://www.lifelock.com/landing/real/safe with promo code SAFEID1. Hope this helps.

Why isn't there a huge movement by the press to make this scandal public? There's little bits and pieces that come out, but it's been out there publicly since May I believe thanks to the Village Voice.

This REALLY needs to be addressed with every single resource available. The fact that it's not goes to show how awful the NY Post, Daily News, and NY Times have become with regards to "investigative journalism". Al Baker of all people should be running with this story instead of keeping his mouth shut. I'm sure he knows exactly what's going on. He reported on the "quotas" but it came and went. The real crime is the downgrading.

You liberals amaze me...the police should just abandon all neighborhoods like Bed Stuy....Crown Heights...Harlem..etc...etc...
And let the savages rape..pillage...and destroy you...let them azz rape you then complain to those cops you so despise

About a decade ago, when Giuliani was mayor, I was was violently attacked in Manhattan by a group of young teenage boys. They blocked and surrounded me as I was walking down Broadway in the early evening. The shortest one then hit me extremely hard on the back of the head with a weapon I didn't see. It felt like a hard-wood plank or a metal pipe. They didn't rob me, and I was later told by friends that this was probably a gang initiation. But the local police precinct recorded the crime as mere "harassment." At the very least, this was assault, not harassment, and since such a blow could have killed or paralyzed me, the crime could even be categorized as attempted murder. I was baffled by the "harassment" designation, and didn't understand it until years later, when the reports of fraudulent NYC crime statistics became widely publicized.

My uncle was a cop at the 23rd Precinct in East Harlem years ago. He told me that this has been going on for many, many years, especially in Brooklyn and Queens. A lot of it has to do with maintaining the illusion that some of the more affluent neighborhoods in these areas are safe and keeps property values from going down (e.g. Park Slope, where theft and home break-ins are a problem).

As authors of a published scientific study which Al Baker mentioned, we strongly feel that there is citywide issue of downgrading crimes. This is definitely not isolated to an individual or this precinct. This is not only in our study but also reflected in the Schoolcraft tapes (e.g., not mentioned were tapes of sergeants at roll calls advising not to take a complaint report for robbery if victims do not go to the precinct detective squad as well numerous other questionable activities), Polanco tapes, a supervisor's tapes, Detective Harold Hernandez's statements about downgrading multiple forcible rapes, hospital data indicating firearms assaults (which must be reported to the police) are skyrocketing, data available on non-index crime also skyrocketing. We can go on and on. Who gets hurt? First, any victim of a crime is hurt by this because their complaint may not be properly recorded or even heard. Second, detectives and the police department are hurt by not having accurate data to fight crime properly. This is a citywide scandal that needs exposure. Lack of transparency has hampered crime fighting and accountability to the public.

I understand why black people are suspect of the police, having lived in Bed-Stuy for two years now. I have seen police harass people in Bed-Stuy for minor offenses that eventually get dismissed in court. What a waste of time and resources. It seems like the police are like quality-of-life patrol officers nowadays. Everyone is a target.

I certainly do not every approach the police. I fear them.

that "anonymous" cop that just called in is so disingenuous it makes me sick. this is a city wide problem. to pick apart the details of the 81st case is him covering up what he knows to be true.
crime is NOT lower, the police are just not pursuing felonies unless they absolutely have to. they are half-men who should not be able to sleep at night.

How can we ever believe anything police say? Are any "events" where someone is treated unjustly (or shot, like the pace student) EVER followed by a cop admitting ANY wrongdoing? Perfection is not possible. This posture leads anyone with a brain to realize that cops all lie to cover themselves up. The so-called whistle blowers who are being maligned by fellow officers are WARRIORS and deserve a lot of credit for having CAJONES. The pressure must be unbelieveable. Hang in there.

From the documentary that air on This American Life, it was clear that police officers were being pressured to create situations for ticketing. For example, the officer that blew the whistle on this practice talks about being pressured to frisk black males even though there was no reason for doing so.

After listing to the This American Life documentaries and the tapes, it is hard to believe that anyone can defend the police department.

Standard police procedures make it very difficult to report crimes in New York. Several times I tried to report crimes in Queens & Manhattan, only to get no answer after repeated calls at all times of day at the precinct extension for reporting crimes. To report a crime, I had to go to precinct offices and spend an hour there. The NYPD must know that this will supress crime stats. Why not have a way of reporting crimes on-line, at least as an initial step?
Also, when my friend reported a stolen bicycle on the upper east side, the police refused to accept her statement that the bike was worth over $1,000 and arbitrarily reduced the value to less, perhaps to make a more serious crime look petty in the stats.

I was mugged in LIC near the Ravenswood houses. I wasn't able to identify the perps, I couldn't remember what they looked like. But I wanted to get a police report because they had taken my drivers license and credit card, so I was concerned about identity theft, and I have insurance protection for that. However, after following up with the police, the 114th Precinct, I was told, in no uncertain terms that by the desk sergeant that the Lieutenant wasn't interested in the case and would just keep losing it. Now, I understand, if I can't identify anyone, the case is kind of worthless, however a report would have been helpful.

Regarding the first person who called in, who identified himself as a retired NYPD detective and said that he didn't understand why anyone would be bothered by the daily quotas. Either he is being disingenuous or he is an idiot. Arrest or summons quotas are wrong because the police are supposed to go out every day to protect and serve based on the circumstances they encounter, not in accordance with a prescribed number of incidents that obviously cannot be predicted. He should be ashamed of himself, and BL should have questioned his "logic."

Let's not forget that after Schoolcraft's first report to Internal Affairs, the cops allegedly came to his house and lied in order to have him committed to a mental ward:

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-15/news/adrian-school-craft-nypd-tapes-whistleblower/3/

It started with Giuliani. Giuliani used police harrassment and arbitrary stops-and-frisks to push drug dealing indoors. Bloomberg wants arbitrary stops-and-frisks to maintain the illusion of security. But the bedrock of serious crimes isn't affected by these methods.

In the late 1990s I had my identity stolen and received a cell phone bill for over $ 3000.00
I followed procedure and filed with the US secret service and my local police pct , the 81 st
I gave them the cell phone bill to help catch the crook, yet when I called back in a few days to follow up I was told the police lost this evidence !
Then the officer told me to never leave evidence with the police !

I grew up in NYC and currently live in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. My father in law is a retired police officer who worked in the 9th precinct- I know for a fact officers today give out tickets/summons for things that they used to turn a blind eye to purely because there were bigger fish to fry.

On a separate note, the term "whistleblower" needs to be changed or completely eliminated from the workforce world- this officer who gathered evidence and exposed all these lies is a HERO.

also, this is NOT exclusive to this precinct as they are going to try and spin it. i've had this exact experience in multiple precincts in brooklyn.
to the caller, ex-cop- he epitomizes the ignorant cop in brooklyn....just hearing him talk brings back the frustration of dealing with these idiots.

If this is a widespread problem, is there really a way to find out other than a "John Dean" type character to fess up.

this sounds very suspiciously like the scandal involving school test scores. chuck ornstein is right, bloomberg is behind this - at least insofar as a fish rots from the head. this guy has had 3 terms to make things better, and boy, are we doing great now!

one police plaza puts a lot of pressure on the precincts to keep crime low, while not give out many resources.

Michael Bloomberg is the catalyst behind the quotas. Crime statistics are the cornerstone of his administration. He wants positive numbers to pass along to the press, and he wants them all the time.

i have a direct, personal experience(s) with this issue. i live in this neighborhood and i know for a fact that this is a systemic problem. the police are worse than the criminals.