Crime and Police Reform
It’s simple: We all need to feel safe on our streets, in our neighborhoods, in our homes- no matter what zip code you live in. Black Lives Matter. Kettling is unacceptable. If you break the rules, you get fired
Driving down crime and police reform are not in conflict with one another.
When we measure the right metrics, we can move from a warrior culture to a guardian mindset. When we enforce strict accountability, we can eliminate aggressive policing. When we address the primary socio-economic drivers of crime, we can make it easier for police to succeed.
But we need to get real about what it’s going to take to keep our communities safe and reform the NYPD. We need an experienced leader who is ready to work with the police union to get results. Kathryn is the only candidate that has the commitment and the experience to get it done. As the leader of a uniform agency with a 98% male force and law enforcement division, she was tough but fair–and fired Sanitation Workers that broke the rules.
Right now we are seeing many retirements in the upper ranks at NYPD. A new commissioner will have the opportunity to reshape the culture. Our incoming recruits will be more diverse. But we can’t afford another day without action or accountability. Kathryn’s plan will drive down crime and restore trust in the NYPD.
Kathryn’s plan to reform the NYPD.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Promote officers that prioritize community engagement and drive down crime
- Address root causes of violence and fund Cure Violence groups
- Zero tolerance for rule infractions by police officers
- Increase the recruitment age from 21 to 25
- Increase community policing and bias training rooted in engaging with community
- Fund anti-violence programs in communities led by credible messengers
- Improve training for the front lines of management: sergeants and lieutenants
- Embed qualified social workers that can help address non-violent situations
- Require NYC residency for new officers
Prevent and reduce crime and violence
- You get what you measure. Reimagine COMPSTAT to include crime reduction, reduction of aggressive policing, and community engagement. Reward officers for driving down crime, not making arrests, and promote officers who embody the guardian mindset.
- Address the root causes that drive our young people to turn to gangs and crime: lack of access to jobs, unstable housing, food insecurity, and inequitable education.
- Address gang and gun violence with solutions that interrupt the cycle, such as the Bronx Connect “Release the Grip” program, which trains credible messengers such as formerly incarcerated individuals to intervene in conflict before gun violence happens. Fund Cure Violence groups that mediate conflict and connect people to resources, from education to legal assistance, and violence interrupters.
- Re-implement an interdisciplinary focus to get guns off our streets by working together with NYPD, prosecutors, the chief medical examiner, and DAs.
Rebuild our police force with a guardian mindset
- Increase the recruitment age from 21 to 25--the age at which you can rent a car.
- Implement more robust training for front line managers (sergeants and lieutenants) and new recruits to focus on conflict mediation and other non-law enforcement skills--modeled after US Navy SEALs, who spend 20% of their time on continuous training, including de-escalation techniques.
- Increase community policing and expand the implicit bias training program to focus on a proven, research-based method of reducing bias: engaging in positive interactions with out-group members.
- Embed qualified professionals focused on mental health and domestic violence alongside police officers who are responding to 911 calls to help address non-violent situations.
- Require NYC residency for new cops to ensure every member of the NYPD is fully committed to the community they serve.
- Require child-sensitive protocols at the time of arrest to reduce trauma within families and to the responding officers. That means presuming there is a child in the home, staying on scene with the child and then supporting the needs and rights of children with incarcerated parents.
- Appoint a commissioner who is committed to rebuilding the NYPD to focus on serving the public--and hold them accountable for results.
Enforce clear and consistent consequences
- Enforce all the rules, including and especially for “small” infractions. We lose morale, public trust and accountability when police officers defy orders to wear masks in public.
- Implement and enforce clear, swift, and consistent consequences with a zero tolerance policy for depraved behavior.
Reform our criminal justice system
- Deepen support for re-entry programs and remove barriers for workers released from prison who are seeking employment.
- Legalize marijuana and use tax revenues generated for community reinvestment and to pay for intervention and alternatives to incarceration programs. Automatically clear past criminal records for marijuana possession. Create a social equity plan for licenses that prioritizes communities harmed by marijuana enforcement.
- Close Rikers and transform it into a renewable energy zone with pipelines for middle class, union jobs in the new green economy for justice involved people.
Media Coverage
WEST SIDE RAG
“We need to have public safety in order to have an economy that can grow. I grew up in the 70s and 80s. You didn’t take the subway after eight o’clock at night, because it was too dangerous. We can’t go back to those days. Holding the Police Commissioner accountable for creating the culture is imperative, and as the next mayor, that is what I’ll do.”
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
“You’re not supposed to be on your phone when you’re on patrol. They used to write you up for that. They don’t write you up for those sorts of infractions anymore. The fact that they didn’t wear masks all summer — that’s a management problem.”
BK MAG
“I understand uniform employees and how you manage a paramilitary organization. You have to have really clear, crisp rules. And you have to hold people accountable, otherwise you lose control of the department… the sergeants and lieutenants are absolutely critical to culture change. [we need to] make sure they are trained in implicit bias and management. And then promote people into the Chief roles who are making connections with communities and driving down crime.”
