Authors
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Benjamin Heller
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Kerry Mulligan
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Sam Raim
New York City Needs a Stronger Vision for Effective, Accountable Policing
Overview
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office on a wave of enthusiasm about a new approach to governing, including a stance on policing that broke with that of his predecessor. As a candidate, Mamdani promised to “relieve the excessive burden we’ve placed on police officers” and to allow officers “to focus on serious crimes.”
The Mamdani administration has made remarkable progress to deliver a new Department of Community Safety and to close Rikers Island. But this progress is threatened by a “quality-of-life” policing strategy that is overwhelming a criminal justice system already under significant strain. To complement its broader community safety strategies, many of which will take time to stand up, the administration urgently needs a clear vision for the role of police in delivering safety.
This brief details five ways New York City’s policing vision can deliver safety, justice, and accountability.
Key Takeaway
A policing strategy that complements the Mamdani administration’s community safety vision would focus on serious crime, faster response times, and case clearance rates; use evidence-informed strategies in deploying law enforcement; recruit and train in keeping with its community safety priorities; support officer well-being; and invest in a community safety workforce to enable scaling up civilian response strategies.
Publication Highlights
Detaining someone for even one day increases the likelihood that they will be rearrested and enter the cycle of crime. New York City should aim to limit low-level arrests that may not further public safety.
As part of comprehensive approach, evidence-based policing strategies—like problem-oriented policing and focused deterrence—increase safety and allow the city to leverage policing for the strategies they are best suited.
Amid the well-documented shortage of community safety professionals, New York City will need to scale up a skilled, credentialed civilian workforce to enact the Mamdani administration’s community safety vision.