This is a great example of the connection between disorder and crime. The article also shows the need for police with other agencies as that try to do jobs that were done by police.
In the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, as hundreds of thousands of protestors have joined demonstrations throughout the world, there is renewed attention on the day to day dysfunction of police. And, there is new energy and increased political will to eliminate harmful police functions. From inherently segregationist “Ugly Laws” to the Reconstruction era “Black Codes,” the development and enforcement of infraction laws has been and continues to be racist and classist. Police in California issued over 250,000 non-traffic infraction citations in 2019. Non-traffic infractions are only the most low-level violations in both the state and local municipal codes, punishable by a fine. They do not include harms to people or property, but instead criminalize everyday behaviors such as standing, sleeping, owning a dog, and crossing the street.1 Data from this report show deep racial disparities in enforcement: these are not citations police commonly give in white, wealthy neighborhoods. Though the citations are criminal, there is no right to an attorney, and therefore little recourse for people who are targeted for enforcement because of their race. The result is hundreds of dollars in fines and fees people cannot afford to pay, and, in some counties, warrants and arrests for people who do not either pay or appear in court. This ongoing form of police harassment of Black and Latinx communities, people experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities can cause trauma, and enforcement of minor infractions has led to police violence.
Over the past decade, New York City authored a remarkable public safety success story that saved thousands of lives, transformed the safety of communities across the five boroughs, and overturned false narratives about the efficacy of broken windows policing. As America’s safest big city, we proved that significant reductions in violent crime could be achieved without unconstitutional stop-and-frisk tactics or unnecessary prosecutions of low-level non-violent offenses, both of which disproportionately harmed our Black and Latino communities.
— Read on www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-dont-bring-back-broken-windows-20200824-zblyi4rr7nfjlmosswwbeeb4de-story.html
We now live in a time of cancellations and closings. Most seriously, our public schools are now closed, no longer serving the 1.1 million city children who usually attend. Also shuttered are some of our principal entertainments and iconic distractions. Bars and restaurants, for instance, cannot serve sitting customers, only make deliveries.
— Read on www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-justice-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-20200316-ovskg6k3abfwrgqjjwnhyeuygq-story.html
As the MTA seeks more control over policing its system, it can make civil enforcement more efficient and consistent.
— Read on nypost.com/2019/12/01/a-better-way-to-fight-new-yorks-fare-beating-problem/
Critics of an initiative to stop fare evasion say residents living in poverty are punished and harkens back to New York’s so-called Broken Windows policing that helped foster the mass criminalization of nonviolent Black and brown people.
— Read on newsone.com/3888423/nyc-subway-fare-evasion-guerrilla-campaign/
Future of Policing 