February 13, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com |
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- Igor Kossov on Drawing the Line
- Igor Kossov on Bloomberg's Budget
- Sarah Crean on Ready to Frack?
- Jane C. Timm on Promises Kept
- Igor Kossov on Demanding Accountablity
Crime and Safety Archive
Staying Out of Jail -- and in Upper Manhattan (June 2009) Every year, hundreds of inmates released from prisons return to the area's diverse neighborhoods. But many will stay only a short time before going back to prison again.
Failed Justice: Convicted but Innocent (April 2009) Alan Newton is one of the many New Yorkers who have spent years in prison for crimes they did not commit. What can we do to stop sending innocent people to jail?
Trying -- Again -- to Change the Drug Laws (February 2009) For decades, activists have pressed the state's leaders to totally overhaul or repeal New York's harsh Rockefeller drug laws. Now Gov. Paterson and Assembly Speaker Silver have called for major changes, but Senate Democrats have yet to take a firm stand on the issue.
A President's New York Prosecutors (October 2008) A new administration in Washington could mean new top federal prosecutors in New York City.
Can New York Break Its Incarceration Habit? (June 2008) Crime is down and so is the number of prisoners. Despite that, New York keeps its prisons open and spending money that could go to improve other parts of the crimnal justice system, such as parole.
The High Price of Counterfeit Goods (March 2008) While the police have cracked down on counterfeit goods in New York, law enforcement officials and manufacturers must win the hearts and minds of New York's bargain hunting consumers if they hope to stymie this multi-billion dollar industry.
Delving the Murky World of Police Informants (February 2008) Narcotics detectives in Brooklyn sparked a scandal last year when they paid informants with cocaine, clearly breaking the law. But even when police follow regulations, dealing with informants raises a host of concern.
The Fight Against Street Harassment (January 2008) For many women walking city streets is akin to running a gauntlet of catcalls, whistles and worse. What can and should be done about the harassment?
Who's Stopped? Who's Frisked? (December 2007) A recent report was seen as having cleared the police of racial bias in who they stop on the street. But much has been ignored in the coverage of this volatile issue.
The Fight Against Drunk Driving (November 2007) New tough laws on drunk driving just went into effect in New York, but advocates say government could more.
A Modern Slavery (October 2007) The state government has approved a new law to end human trafficking but the shadowy business presents unique challenges for law enforcement.
The Brave New World of Ticket Sales (July 2007) Facing a hot market for resold tickets online, New York has basically legalized scalping. What effect will this wide-open market have on ticket prices?
Taking Aim at Illegal Guns (July 2007) The mayor has taken his fight against gun violence to Congress and Southern gun dealerships. Has his crusade done anything to stop the shooting?
The Move to Expand DNA Testing (May 2007) Governor Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to take DNA samples from anyone convicted of a crime in the state has revived the debate over this powerful tool.
Auxiliary Police (March 2007) In the wake of the shooting death of two of its officers, great changes may be underway in the way New York City's 4,500-member volunteer police force is trained, deployed, supervised...and protected.
Cell Phones To The Rescue (February 2007) If Mayor Bloomberg's claim is untrue that his new plan to enable 911 to receive photographs and images from cell phones is available in "no other city in the world", it is still a brave new world for those for whom the plan raises uncomfortable questions.
Juvenile Injustice (January 2007) The mayor’s announcement of “the most significant restructuring of our juvenile justice system in decades” gets a mixed response from some people who know the system best.
50 Bullets, Many Issues (December 2006) The shooting of Sean Bell on his wedding echoes other shooting of unarmed black men by police. A look at the reactions, the issues raised and what some say should be done to prevent similar tragedies.
After Prison (November 2006) The story of New Yorker Elaine Bartlett, released from prison after 16 years, highlights issues surrounding the Rockefeller Drug Laws and the reintegration of ex-prisoners into society.
Bias Murder -- The Death Of Michael Sandy In Context (October 2006) Twenty years after thousands of people marched to protest a bias killing in Howard Beach, a similar killing of Michael Sandy, a gay African-American New Yorker, has produced no march through Sheepshead Bay. Andy Humm explains what's changed.
Mayor's Summit On Illegal Guns (May 2006) Part photo op, part strategy session, mayors from fifteen cities met at Gracie Mansion for a summit on illegal guns. "The important question," David Dean writers, "is whether the mayor's coalition-building will do any good."
Budget: More Cops, More Surveillance; Less Crime? (April 2006) David Dean details a proposed crime budget with the largest city-funded expansion of the police department’s uniformed force since 1993, and asks what if anything it will accomplish.
Terror, Not Terrorism (March 2006) Thanks to several recent scares, David Dean observes, New Yorkers have been reminded that, no matter how much safer we are, there lurks "a palpable anxiety about the threat of terrorism."
The State Of the City's Crimefighting (February 2006) In his State of the City address, Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a number of concrete proposals to fight crime over the next year.
Cop Killings -- Will The New Laws Do Any Good? (January 2006) "In the wake of two fatal shootings of New York City police officers in the space of less than two weeks, the New York State Legislature sprang to action so that it could, well, appear to be springing to action," writes David Dean, who asks: Will the laws they passed do any good?
High Profile Crimes Post Election (December 2005) While crime levels remain down for now, the public perception of public safety can be easily shaped by the kind of high profile cases that have been in the news since the election last month.
Gun Control And The New Federal Law Shielding Gun Manufacturers From Lawsuits (November 2005) A new federal law shielding gun manufacturers from lawsuits, David Dean writes, “marked a tremendous defeat for New York City” in its strategy for controlling guns.
Death Penalty, NYC Style (October 2005) The debate over the death penalty was revived during Campaign 2005, David Dean points out, "but this time with a different twist."
Rockefeller Drug Law Reform? (September 2005) Do the two changes to the Rockefeller Drug Laws this year -- one enacted this month -- truly reform them? Anthony Papa, formerly imprisoned by these laws, argues that they are not.
Campaign 2005: Crime Declines, Public Safety Worries Continue (August 2005) While street crime declines, worries about terrorism continue. Jaime Adame looks at the mayoral candidates’ positions on such crime issues as the right number of police officers, what to do about hate crimes, and how to prevent another attack.
Youth Justice Board -- Teenagers Studying (Not Committing) Crime (July 2005) Young people are often blamed for crime. The Youth Justice Board, made up of high school students throughout the city, is trying to do something about it.
Does Kendra's Law Work? (June 2005) When a mentally ill man threw Kendra Webdale into the path of a subway train, her death led to Kendra's Law, which allows for court-ordered treatment of the mentally ill, and which is due to expire at the end of the month. Jaime Adame looks at the debate over whether the law has worked.
Frozen Pay, Heated Rhetoric (May 2005) With police officers working without a contract for three years, relations between Bloomberg and the unions are heating up.
Abandoned Babies (April 2005) Why is the crime of abandoning a baby rarely prosecuted? Because, Jaime Adame writes, abandoning an unwanted baby is better than the alternative: If a child isn’t harmed, authorities reason that it is better not to treat the mother as a criminal.
Protecting Whistleblowers: The New York City False Claims Act (March 2005) The New York City False Claims Act, which awaits Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s signature (or veto), would protect whistleblowers (make some of them rich) and help clean up the crime of fraud among city agencies and contractors. That’s what its supporters say.
Home Invasion Robberies (February 2005) Police arrested leaders of a gang that they say terrorized drug dealers by breaking into their homes. But law-abiding citizens can be targets of home-invasion robberies as well.
Rockefeller Drug Law Reform and Drug Courts (January 2005) Governor Pataki focused on crime in his State of the State address – but left out any mention of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, recently reformed, or of drug courts, which more and more advocates are seeing as an option that offers some tangible answers to a difficult problem.
Battling Gun Violence In The Streets And In The Courts (December 2004) The battle to stop gun violence is now as much in the courtroom as on the street. Jaime Adame looks at ongoing police strategies, at the new Gun Court, and at gun lawsuits.
Murdering Women (November 2004) More than 300 New York women have been killed by their intimate partner, according to a new study.
Strip Searches (October 2004) Jaime Adame looks at police strip-searches - are they all really necessary?
Police Killed With Their Own Guns (September 2004) Two police officers were shot and killed this month after a suspect grabbed a gun from one of the officers. Jamie Adame looks at incidents of police being killed with their own weapons - and what can be done to prevent such events.
Operation Safe Housing (August 2004) Jaime Adame details Operation Safe Housing, the new effort to make the city's public housing safer.
The Stolen Lives Project (July 2004) Jaime Adame visits a ceremony of the Stolen Lives Project -- New Yorkers killed by the police -- and listens to the sorrow and the anger of family members.
Police Whistleblowers (June 2004) Jaime Adame tells the tale of a couple of police whistleblowers, who, rather than thanked for exposing wrongdoing in the department, say they are being subject to retribution.
FDNY vs. NYPD (May 2004) Jaime Adame looks at the growing feud between the police and fire departments.
Questioning Police Statistics For Crime and Cases Of Misconduct (April 2004) Jaime Adame reports on recent criticism questioning police statistics in both crimes and cases of police misconduct.
Aftermath of the Stansbury Killing (March 2004) Jaime Adame chronicles the continuing reaction, by public officials, community residents, and the police, after a grand jury declined to indict the officer who shot teenager Thomas Stansbury Jr.
Operation Impact And The Shooting Of Timothy Stansbury, Jr. (February 2004) Jaime Adame looks at Operation Impact I and II and other police initiatives in light of the police shooting of 19-year-old Timothy Stansbury, Jr.
Civil Liberties And Police Surveillance (January 2004) Jaime Adame looks at changes in police surveillance as a result of federal legislation and court decisions.
After Rikers (December 2003) Jaime Adame reports on a new program to help inmates after they are released from Rikers Island get help with drug treatment, housing and jobs.
Bank Robberies On the Rise (November 2003) Bank robberies are on the rise in New York. The police commissioner blames the banks themselves.
The Racial Profiling Settlement (October 2003) Jaime Adame details the wide-ranging consequences when the New York Police Department agreed to settle a federal class-action lawsuit accusing the department of illegal racial profiling when stopping suspects.
Murder in City Hall (July 2003) In the days since Councilmember James Davis was murdered in City Hall, Julia Vitullo-Martin writes, New Yorkers have struggled to make sense of this homicide.
Blackface Parodists Win In Court; Cops vs. Firefighters; Still No Dancing Allowed (July 2003) Julia Vitullo-Martin explains why she abhors the federal judge’s order to reinstate the police officer and two firefighters who wore blackface and otherwise mocked African Americans in a parade float in Broad Channel. Also: cops and firefighters clash; big nightclub owners defend cabaret laws while protestors denounce them.
Things Go Seriously Wrong: Police Issue Report On Harlem Raid, Lemrick Nelson Gets Off Lightly, Murder Is Up Again. Also: Police Spying (June 2003) Julia Vitullo-Martin analyzes the 24-page police report of a police raid "that could not have gone more wrong," and that resulted in the death of Alberta Spruill.
Murder and Rape On The Rise; A Look At Nightclub Mayhem (May 2003) Julia Vitullo-Martin reports that murder and rape are on the rise. Also: a look at the increased mayhem at nightclubs, exacerbated by the ban on smoking.
The 9/11 Killer; The Public Hearings On 9/11; Moynihan On Government Secrecy (April 2003) Julia Vitullo-Martin considers the public hearings on the 9/11 terrorism attacks, finally taking place 19 months after the fact; the case of the 9/11 killer; and the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan's prescient comments on the pathology of government secrecy.
The Anti-War Protest And The Police (March 2003) Julia Vitullo-Martin looks at the issue of police and protests in light of the hubbub over the February 15th anti-war rally, and speculates what may lie ahead. Also: police surveillance; the New York Police Department versus the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The District Attorney vs. the Police (February 2003) The Police Department and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office are virtually at war over the Central Park jogger case, with each offering its theory of what happened that April night. But the two sides seem largely oblivious of the many failures that both made in investigating the 1989 attack.
Old Issues Are New Again: Parole, Central Park Jogger Case, Rape (November 2002)
Two Heinous Crimes Unresolved (October 2002)
9/11/01-02: Are New Yorkers Any Safer? (9/11 Special) Julia Vitullo-Martin attempts to answer the question: Are New Yorkers right to feel as safe in the city as anywhere else in the country?
Police Pay: What's Fair? (September 2002)
Capital Punishment, Parole, And More (August 2002)
Drug Law Reform Failed Again (July 2002)
Operation Spotlight, etc. (June 2002)
Back To The Bad Old Days? (May 2002)
Aiming High-Tech, Ivy Recruitment (April 2002)
Cutbacks and Checkpoints (March 2002)
Crown Heights (February 2002)
Crime Still Declines, But Why, And Will It Continue? (January 2002)
New And Old Police Commissioner Ray Kelly (December 2001)
Police Vs. Fire (November 2001)
Making New York Safer, Not Slower and Poorer (October 2001)
Security (September 2001)
Jailing Demonstrators. Also: Police-Community Relations (August 2001)
Marijuana (June 2001)
Sanctioning Police Malpractice (May 2001)
Presidential Pardons (April 2001)
Comissioner Bernard Kerik and the three priorities (March 2001)
Lessons and Legacy of Amadou Diallo (February 2001)
School safety (December 2000)
Election Special: Who's Tougher on Crime? (October 2000)
Kerik's Recipe for Success (September 2000)
National Night Out and Community Policing (August 2000)
Red Hook Community Justice Center (July 2000)
NYPD vs. Civil Rights Commission (June 2000)
Stop-and-Frisk Searches (May 2000)
Operation Condor (April 2000)
DNA Redux (March 2000)
Repeat Offenders (January 2000)
City Journal (December 1999)
What Goes In Must Come Out (November 1999)
Strip Searches ( 0000) Jaime Adame looks at police strip-searches - are they being used by police only in special circumstances or as a matter of routine?
