NYPD Pressured to Downplay Crime Stats

By, for example, counting all the burglaries that occur in an apartment building as a single criminal act

Were we - and just about everybody else - wrong to congratulate New York City for its low crime stats?

Maybe so, according to this report from The Atlantic on research uncovering the pressure NYC cops have faced over the years to downplay crime for reasons of public image. From a survey of nearly 2,000 retired boys and girls in blue, it was found that many officers had downgraded certain offenses to lesser crimes - e.g. "burglary" to "criminal trespass" - or discouraged victims from filing complaints.

Research designer Eli B. Silverman said the findings reveal not so much a "rotten apple" problem of police corruption, but rather a "rotten barrel."

Do you think police departments often suppress the real of rate of crime?

[dances-weebles]

well, suburban law officials have always downplayed crime rates in the high-end areas, why not inner city cops, too?

[FRitzKlenner5]

As a former resident of a tourist destination, I know for a fact that they do. Back in 1997, there was a string of unrelated murder-suicides in that particular small beach community that inspired an opinion article in the local paper titled something to the effect of "Is There Something in the Water?". Business owners and real estate investors were LIVID. That was before the majority of the media outlets took sides politically, and now they're so used to lying about and covering up everything else that it's much simpler to make them "play ball"...

[dustyoutlaw]

When my wife's car was stolen off the street on the same block as our business I called the Police. Within 5 minutes with a description of the thief (provided by a fellow businessman) and all relevant information. I was told they didn't take stolen car reports "over the phone" any longer and we would have to come to the police station to file a report.

When a neighbor kid got on a nearby garage rooftop and shot out a window box in our kitchen with a high powered BB gun and I went around the block and trapped him on the roof and called the police they showed up 4 1/2 hours later after two further calls.

Things like this are done to make it tougher for citizens to file a report. Make it tougher to file a report and you have lower crime statistics.

When I was robbed in my store by two 17 year olds with a gun, pistol whipped, and suffered more than 75,000.00 worth of injuries to myself and several thousand dollars in cash and merchandise, they refused to try those two 17 year old's as adults despite one being 4 days from his 18th birthday and the other being less than 2 months, both being over 6 feet tall and both being over 200 lbs, both having long criminal records and both being gang affiliated.

Refuse to prosecute violent crime to the fullest extent of the law and you have lower crime statistics.

Our governments at all levels are claiming crime is at a 50 year low. Doesn't surprise me at all. Statistics can say anything you want them to say if you hold the control of which statistics hit the board, and how if you even bother to record them at all.

[Dave]

Sounds to me like you need to invest in some firearms and handle shit yourself.

[dustyoutlaw]

I own guns. I'm pro gun. But you don't have a chance to get at your gun when you're robbed. They actually took a .357 mag which was how they got caught when they tried to pawn it.(Ya know, them "gangsta's" don't like revolvers.) It's pretty hard to shoot a car thief you never laid eyes on. And while I had a moment I would have liked to have done so, you really can't go around shooting 13 year olds with a BB gun off of garage rooftops. LOL

[dustyoutlaw]

Correction: You don't always have a chance to get at your gun when you're being robbed. One other time in 30 years two guys came in and I spotted them as being the same kind and I took the gun out and laid it on the counter with my hand on it and said "is their a problem" and they ran. Got busted for trying to rob the pharmacy on the corner half a block away later that same day.

[Real4WheelDrv]

don't worry, i'm sure the gun used was purchased legally and properly registered, tighter gun laws would surely have prevented those wayward lads from doing such a terrib....ah screw it.

[Fishbone345]

Sorry to hear that Dusty, I hope things have gotten better for you financially and health wise.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

If people want to know if a place is safe to live or visit all you have to do is look at one statistic - how much of the population is registered as libbers. The higher the concentration of libbers then quite naturally the higher the crime rate. You can look at some other demographics too, but the mods here won't let me speak that truth. Notice in heavily conservative districts the crime rate is quite low. I'm just saying.

[dustyoutlaw]

I guess that's why that in ULTRA conservative Oklahoma you have a stronger change of being murdered in Tulsa Oklahoma per capita than you do in Los Angeles. Keep talking Bubba. We always love hearing for the uninformed.

[Bobolinsky]

Study Ranks America's Most Liberal and Conservative Cities
http://govpro.com/content/gov_imp_31439/#ixzz...

25 most Liberal Cities in America
"22) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma"

Pennsylvania has a similar phenomenon. Two Liberal islands in a state that is otherwise solidly conservative. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

[Bobolinsky]

WOW I got that WAY wrong...

First I was thinking that you said OK City and then I saw that you said Tulsa... So I rechecked to look for Tulsa and I discover... OKC is the 22nd most Conservative City...

OK let me redo my response... about Tulsa.

[Bobolinsky]

Tulsa Murder Rate vs. Other Cities

This is interesting... They don't give many details about causes... Just this...

"TPD also said the majority of the homicides in Tulsa are relationship type situations, or drugs."
http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Tulsa-M...

Tulsa's murder rate is more than 3 times the rate in LA.

But they don't mention Philadelphia...

Philadelphia Closes 2011 With Highest Per-Capita Murder Rate In U.S.
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/12/30/p...

Regardless, this was about political leanings of a city and the murder rate, so...

The politics of Tulsa Oklahoma
The political party of the mayors doesn't help... Pretty even.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mayors_o...

The City Council is mostly republican...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Tu...

Looks like the people know a power grab when they see it... The voters seem conservative.
http://www.batesline.com/archives/2011/11/tul...

Gun laws

Oklahoma Open Carry Law Embraced By Many In Tulsa
It looks like Tulsans know the course of action is to arm the innocent.
http://www.newson6.com/story/18430792/oklahom...

I'm convinced... Tulsa is a majority conservative city...

So what is going on in Tulsa? Something ain't right. These are rates we see from Liberal cities like Detroit and Washington DC. Something is wrong in Tulsa.

[tigergoddess]

You are so right. Look at the heaviest crime rate states, the bankrupt states, the sanctuary states,,,what color are they political wise? Blue? I think so.

[Bobolinsky]

Typical Liberal denialism.

For Liberals, when theory and reality conflict, Theory wins.

The crime rate has been rising since Nanny Bloomberg took office? No worries. Just massage the numbers. The actual crime rate is unimportant. The "perceived" crime rate is what Liberals care about.

At least until they can't ignore (hide?) it anymore, when they elect a Rudolph Giuliani to fix it for them.

[dustyoutlaw]

That's always a solution isn't it? BLAME THE LIBERALS. Like the conservatives don't put out false statistics as well. People like you on the extreme right and people like weebles on the extreme left are why this country is in shambles. Your only solution is to "blame the other side." BOTH PARTIES ARE CORRUPT TO THE CORE.

[Bobolinsky]

Bloomberg is a Progressive Liberal and a registered republican.

I said Liberal... NOT Democrat. I differentiate between the two.

The Democrat party base is comprised of...
1) Identity Groups- blacks, latinos, gays, women/pro-choice... single-issue superficial voters... the Tribal Left as I call them.

2) The Doves- anti-war, anti-death penalty, anti-violence, environmentalism, global-warming-alarmists, PETA people... these are emotional voters noted for their compassion above all else.

3) Liberal/Progressives/Socialist s- These are the people that control the first two groups. These are the power-hungry of the Left. They do it through honesty when it helps them and misinformation when it doesn't. Massaging statistics, playing word games, denial and misdirection are just a few of the tactics.

The Republican Party has an equivalent. I call them the Republican Establishment... Progressive Republicans like Theodore Roosevelt.(Bushes, McCain, Romney, Roberts) In BOTH parties these are the people who are more interested in maintaining a "power base".

I don't like the Republican Establishment either. They are not for small government. They are interested in a big government that they control from time to time with the "controllers" from the Left. They see a political arena with Titans battling for control of the masses. Big Government Progressives from both parties are the Titans... The rest of us are the masses.

Do they engage in the same activities as Liberals? Yes. But Liberals have something that the Republican Establishment doesn't... A complicit mainstream media that sets the bar for "objective" and then uses that "objective" line to claim "objectivity" in their reporting. If enough big media outlets (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, NYT...) settle on "objective"... That means they are declaring Truth. That's "Relativism" in real life.

I don't like Relativism or Willful Relativists. I believe in Objective Truth. I just don't believe it's ever knowable. Therefore, anyone who claims to know objective Truth on subjective topics? They are lying. They are hiding a bias. If it's a politically charged issue, the next question should be... Which side benefits from the lying (deception)? That's how you figure out Bias.

[Keyjo]

I gave you a thumbs up for your creative and colorful rant!:-/

[marine1]

And this should surprise someone??????

[FollowTheMoney]

Of course.

[Keyjo]

If it looks like $#!+, feels like $#!+, smells like $#!+; it's probably $#!+!

[Pflack]

Any time you want the truth, never, never, never look to a governmental agency for honest or reliable stats. PERIOD! Politics, politics, politics.

[2starider]

As always Truth it the greatest enemy to the Left. Misinformation and deceit are their SOP. If the Truth hurts Lie, that's their motto.(See Eric
Withholder)

[intrance210]

Of Course,But what's New !

[tigergoddess]

I know the federal government does, they down play it every day, especially among their own staff, but my Sheriff, Joe Arpio, of Maricopa County, AZ, does not.