
Latest NYPD statistics show that a police slow-down may be slowing down, with total arrests made last week increasing over the previous two weeks. But all numbers — particularly tickets for parking, moving violations and criminal summonses — are still low compared to the same period last year.
Arrests and summonses fell across New York City in the wake of a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict an NYPD officer for the death of Eric Garner. Police data shows arrests and summonses dropped immediately after the decision, when protests sprang up across the city. Many cops were diverted to cover the demonstrations.
But after two NYPD officers were gunned down as they sat in their car on Dec. 20, arrests dipped even further and cops almost entirely stopped issuing summonses. Police Commissioner William Bratton said there are a number of factors for the drop in activity — such as a drop in crime complaints and continuing protests — but he acknowledged there appears to have been an organized slow-down.
Unions have often used slow-downs to pressure elected officials. The police unions have denied any organized slowdown and attribute the drop off in activity to officers’ fears for their safety.