NYPD Commissioner Bratton: Broken Windows “Is the Linchpin of Effective Policing”

At a breakfast forum held today
in Manhattan, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton vigorously defended
what he called the “policing of incivility,” commonly known as
“broken windows,” arguing that it’s the “linchpin of effective
policing.” He credited the approach with the steep crime decline in
New York and other cities that began in the mid-1990s. The event
was hosted by the Manhattan Institute to mark the 20th anniversary
of the broken windows approach in New York.

Bratton said that “in the vast majority of cases” the NYPD
reacts to quality of life offenses only after a citizen calls in a
complaint, such as “a prostitute in the doorway” or “a group of
kids smoking marijuana in the hallway.” He attributed the
contentious debate over broken windows to “the residue of
controversy” over stop and frisk, adding that “the same groups
involved in that debate are fueling the debate over the policing of
incivility.” Bratton said the NYPD is working at “building
legitimacy” in the eyes of the community in part by dealing with
the small number of police officers who are bad actors.

New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., who was also
on the panel, said he’d like to see many quality of life crimes
downgraded from criminal to civil offenses. This would clear
roughly 12,000 cases off his docket annually, Vance said, allowing
his office to focus on serious crimes. Richard Aborn, president of
the Citizens Crime
Commission of New York, said that it was clear that the
“community wants quality of life enforcement,” but echoed Vance’s
call for downgrading minor offenses, floating an idea for a system
in which “community-based panels” adjudicate small infractions.

In response to a question, Vance said he supports downgrading
the public display of marijuana to a violation. Thanks to the
Marijuana Reform Act of 1977, carrying less than 25 grams of pot in
New York State is  a civil violation that draws a maximum fine
of $100. However, as Jacob Sullum has
written about in Reason, a citizen caught with the
same quantity of pot in public view faces up to three
months in prison. Vance called the two scenarios a “distinction
without a difference,” and said changing the law is “sensible.”

According to the Marijuana Arrest Research Project, in the
first four months of 2014 the NYPD arrested about 80 people daily
for publicly displaying cannabis.