The Marshall Project reports that the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) new “precision policing” effort, and more specifically is disproportionate outcomes, resemble a previous NYPD initiative known as “broken windows,” a strategy known for the overpolicing of minor crimes, like subway fare evasion, as a means to deter more serious crime. CPE’s CEO and co-founder Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon explains how both efforts create unnecessary interactions between police and civilians, exacerbate racial disparities, and ultimately do not reduce crime:
Solomon also questioned the connection Tisch made between precision policing and the city’s apparent drop in crime, pointing out, “After record spikes, there are record declines. So, sure, crime declines could be a result of this precision policing, but because I teach statistics, I think it’s important to remind people that correlation is not causation.”
Solomon also worries that smaller police departments across the country that may not have the resources to follow the NYPD’s entire approach might still pick up on the rebranding power of precision policing. If there’s a technocratic way of “updating the ‘broken windows’ theory that will get you in less trouble and get you more supporters,” Solomon said, then that is “something that will appeal to police and politicians outside of New York City.”
Read the full interview at The Marshall Project’s website.