Commissioner Bratton Says NYC Is Safer, Even With Less Overt Enforcement

NYC Police Commissioner William J. Bratton talks about the latest crime reports for the city and new criminal laws.

Commissioner Bratton started by running through the statistics: shootings are down by about 22%; homicides down by 10%; even the slashings that garnered a lot of attention at the beginning of the year are starting to trend down.

"We're having a good year, which is a continuation of 25 good years in New York where crime has been trending down," he said.

"The city continues to become safer even as we engage in less overt enforcement." Around 700k fewer stop question + frisks. -@CommissBratton

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) May 24, 2016

Stop/Question/Frisk was like a medicine being applied to a patient already getting better, says @CommissBratton.

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) May 24, 2016

Bratton attributed the most serious crimes to several things, including the growing heroin and painkiller epidemics, which he said is caused in part by "overprescribing" by doctors.

City Council is expected to vote on a bill to treat littering, public urination, having open alcohol containers, and a few other criminal misdemeanors as simple violations rather than low-level crimes. Bratton supports the bill, but he said he insisted that all of these incidents remain arrestable.

The Commissioner also weighed in on the latest news from Baltimore – the acquittal of arresting officer Edward Nero – by saying that that State Attorney Marilyn Mosby rushed to judgment.

"She kicked the can down the road. If she'd taken more time to investigate she might not have overcharged."

"There has not been in the modern history of America such a full-frontal attack on all elements of the crim justice system." @CommissBratton

— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) May 24, 2016