Arrests, citations, and summonses for all manner of small offenses (even parking violations) dropped dramatically in New York City the week following the killing of two police officers just before Christmas, according to department data. Now the Times reports that the trend continued through a second week of data:
For a second straight week, New York City police officers sharply cut back on their actions in the street, arresting less than half as many people and writing more than 90 percent fewer summonses than in the same period a year ago.
The slowdown built on a drastic drop in activity that began shortly after the murder of two uniformed patrol officers in Brooklyn on Dec. 20, and continued across all 77 precincts in the city.
A police-union representative has denied that there’s any intentional work stoppage going on, but officers have insisted on adhering to stricter safety precautions after the killings. The New York Post, ordinarily a friend of the force, warned in an editorial last week that the intentional retreat, if that’s what’s going on, amounted to a “highly dangerous,” unacceptable game.