This is a big deal -- its how we roll back the police state. If the NYPD can safely cut arrests by two-thirds, why havent they done it before? The public would save MILLIONS of dollars in expenses and fines. More important still: The human implications of this question are immense. Fewer arrests for minor crimes logically means fewer people behind bars for minor crimes. Poorer would-be defendants benefit the most; three-quarters of those sitting in New York jails are only there because they cant afford bail. Fewer New Yorkers will also be sent to Rikers Island, where endemic brutality against inmates has led to resignations, arrests, and an imminent federal civil-rights intervention over the past six months. A brush with the American criminal-justice system can be toxic for someones socioeconomic and physical health. The NYPD might benefit from fewer unnecessary arrests, too. Tensions between the mayor and the police unions originally intensified after a grand jury failed to indict a NYPD officer for the chokehold death of Eric Garner during an arrest earlier this year. Garners arrest wasnt for murder or arson or bank robbery, but on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes—hardly the most serious of crimes. Maybe the NYPDs new absolutely necessary standard for arrests would have produced a less tragic outcome for Garner then. Maybe it will for future Eric Garners too.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 20:07:10 +0000