Public Safety
Summary: Families should feel comfortable walking to their local parks, running errands in their neighborhoods, and sitting on their stoops at night. Everyone deserves the right to public safety.
We must reprioritize what and how we police by shifting focus from non violent crime and excessive punishing to solving violent crimes such as shootings and homicides.
We must rebuild trust between communities of color and the police.
We must pass the VICTIM Act.
We must invest in place-based, non-police interventions.
We must get tough on the root causes of crime: under- and unemployment, poverty and lack of opportunity.
Check out our op-ed on crime in the Daily News here.
An unfortunate side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant spike in violent crime in our city. This crime wave is holding back New York’s economic recovery, creating a downward crime spiral through lessened economic opportunity. As a person whose family ran a bodega and whose father was held up at gunpoint in a motel robbery in the 70s, many people in our community and across the country have been horrified to see the increase of smash-and-grab holdups in the news and on social media.
Every day, New Yorkers, and especially Black and Brown communities who are disproportionately affected by violent crime, are desperately searching for answers from our elected officials. We need leadership that takes a multi-faceted, evidence-based approach to fighting crime by employing proven strategies to make our city safer.
First, we must reprioritize what and how we police. One of the most alarming trends in the recent crime spike is a sharp uptick in shootings, which are up 18% this year. Communities of color bear the brunt of gun violence: As the Wall Street Journal reported, from January to October 2020, 96% of shooting victims in New York City were Black or Hispanic.
Yet too often, these gun homicides go unsolved. In 2020, a staggering 54% of all homicides went unsolved in the United States. New York’s clearance rate, though historically higher, dropped to an alarmingly low 60% in 2020 just as shootings and homicides increased. The Catch-22 for communities of color is that they are under-policed for major crimes, but over-policed for minor ones. A 2019 Wall Street Journal analysis found wide disparities in homicide clearance rates in New York along racial, income and neighborhood lines. Murders of white victims in wealthy neighborhoods are far more likely to be solved than murders of Black victims in poor neighborhoods.
Generations of mistrust between communities of color and the police have created a vicious cycle: People are more likely to take matters into their own hands if they believe the criminal justice system will fail them. And when trust is low, people are reluctant to cooperate with police and support investigations.
We must shift the focus of policing on catching more shootings and murderers
We must repair and rebuild that trust — and we can start by shifting the focus of policing on catching more shootings and murderers. Our justice system should be laser-focused on building cases, investigating and bringing perpetrators of violent crime to justice rather than policing minor offenses and excessive sentencing. Congress should immediately pass the VICTIM Act, introduced by Rep. Val Demings, which provides law enforcement with a billion dollars to train, retain and invest in detectives, investigators and technologies to clear homicides and make shootings a priority.
We must invest in place-based, non-police interventions
Policing is necessary but not sufficient to drive down violent crime. We must also invest in place-based, non-police interventions. Rehabilitating public spaces to improve public safety and reinvigorate our city coming out of the pandemic must be a priority. Our neighborhoods have far too many vacant storefronts, barren lots and seemingly permanent sidewalk sheds. These places can become havens for illicit activity. Having eyes on the street and revitalizing the once-bustling areas of our city are part and parcel of driving down crime.
Research shows that simple solutions such as installing more streetlights, creating more green spaces and commissioning murals and other public art can make neighborhoods feel more welcoming and drive down crime. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, New York has a generational opportunity to not just invest in more effective policing but also to truly reimagine our city streets to prioritize safety, livability and joy.
We must address the root causes of crime
Finally, we must get tough on the root causes of crime. That means tackling under- and unemployment, poverty and lack of opportunity. Violence affects everyone in the community: Those who grow up around violence have less economic mobility; those trapped in poverty are more likely to resort to crime to make ends meet. Moreover, those who have criminal records are much less likely to find a job, often leading to recidivism.
Locally, Mayor Adams’ Summer Youth Employment program must be fully funded and implemented. Federally, Congress should fund a jobs program — creating both public and subsidized private sector employment options. These programs create employment opportunities for those who are underemployed or left out of the labor force altogether such as people with disabilities, those with criminal records and the long-term unemployed.
To emerge from this pandemic and its ill effects, we must turn back the tide of rising crime so that people feel safe returning to normal life. We want families to feel comfortable walking to their local parks, running errands in their neighborhoods, and sitting on their stoops at night. Everyone deserves the right to public safety.