Council closing curtain on broken windows policing

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A package of City Council bills could change quality-of-life crimes such as littering and excessive noise from misdemeanors to matters for civil court.

Commentators noted the proposal marks a major shift in police tactics, which long emphasized cracking down on low-level violations on the “broken windows” principle that doing so would prevent major crime.

Northwest Bronx Councilman Andrew Cohen voiced initial support for the legislation, echoing widespread criticism that minorities are disproportionately charged for quality-of-life crimes.

“I do believe that these summonses are being issued in a disparaged and uneven way, that some neighborhoods are being flooded with summonses and some are not,” he said. “I haven’t quite made up my mind on what I’m going to [vote] yet. I don’t know if there are going to be tweaks to the legislation after a lengthy hearing we had [on Jan. 25].”

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito proposed the bills, collectively known as the Criminal Justice Reform Act.

Broken windows policing came under scrutiny during 2013’s landmark trial of Floyd v. City of New York. After a two-month non-jury trial, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled that NYPD officers had been subjecting innocent New Yorkers to systematic searching without any probable cause. Darrin Porcher, a criminal justice professor at Monroe College and a former NYPD officer, said the case was a catalyst in moving low-level offenses from criminal to civil courts.

“One of the key reasons the City Council has introduced this, they feel average people are gaining criminal records for low-level offenses,” he explained. “These people are not as apt to have criminal records.” 

Mr. Porcher said that former Police Commissioner William Bratton previously stood by the broken windows style of policing, claiming that leniency on minor offenses could lead to a spike in more serious crime. 

Quality of Life crimes, minor offenses, City Council, broken windows, Darrin Porcher, Katherine Broihier, Manhattan College, Will Speros
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