When Bill de Blasio appointed Bill Bratton as police commissioner earlier this year, eyebrows were raised among de Blasio's progressive base. Why would de Blasio appoint the man responsible for the famous "broken windows" strategy that has often impacted the poor and minority people de Blasio claimed to standing up for? Well, as astute observers noted, probably because he's always been a fan of Bratton's "broken windows" policing strategy. So it should come as no surprise that immediately after taking office, the NYPD has begun to crack down once again on panhandlers and peddlers on the subways. Welcome back, Commissioner Bratton!
According to the New York Times, arrests of panhandlers and peddlers in the subways have more than tripled compared to last year, with 274 arrests this year compared to 90 at the same time last year. While arrests for felonies are down more than 5 percent (which is pretty significant), arrests for violations have increased more than 21 percent. Couple this with the massive drop in stop and frisks in the transit system (353 stops this year, compared to 5,983 last year), and you can get a feel for what life will be like in NYC under Bratton II. Essentially, the NYPD has shifted its policing efforts back towards the quality-of-life violations that Bratton made famous (and which have been proven not to actually stop larger offenses, but whatever).
“If you take care of the little things, then you can prevent a lot of the big things,” Bratton said earlier this week.
