Reports indicate that a severe staff shortage has led to officers taking up to 15 minutes to respond to emergencies. At the same time, trust in police has declined among some residents because of concerns that laws and enforcement policies are applied unfairly based on race. The city has been sending trained mental health professionals to certain mental health calls.
As established by landmark decisions such as Warren v. District of Columbia and Castle Rock v. Gonzales, an individual citizen cannot sue police for failing to prevent a crime or stop an active attack because police owe a general duty to the public, not to an individual.
The department has fewer officers than needed because of retirements and a lack of new hires, contributing to a severe staffing shortage across New York City’s five boroughs. This has caused the remaining staff to work overtime.
Police officers also respond to other calls, including noise complaints and quality-of-life concerns.
According to Police1, the average response time for emergencies has increased over the years. People wait for police to arrive, even when they are in immediate danger.
Many people feel safe in their neighborhoods during the day but feel less secure at night. Zoe, 16, is one of them.
She said, “The fear of someone killing me or kidnapping me keeps me from going out at night.”
Police officers are mostly active in higher-crime neighborhoods, including areas along Prospect Avenue in the Bronx, which runs through several neighborhoods that statistically experience high crime rates. Zoe lives near Prospect Avenue and said, “I often see police officers around my block or near deli grocery stores.”
Zoe said her view of police has shifted over time. “My opinion on police has changed throughout the years because I often see videos of police taking advantage of their power towards citizens based on their race or skin color.” Robert Gangi, founder of the Police Reform Organizing Project, believes there is a lack of trust between officers and residents because officers tend to be unfair.
“The NYPD targets low-income people of color, mainly African American and Latino people when making arrests. Police often carry out these activities in a harsh way,” Gangi said.
People experiencing mental health challenges sometimes call 911 for help. Gangi said police should not handle those calls, in part because they can delay responses to critical situations.
“The city should send mental health professionals who are trained to handle such situations,” he said. Doing so, he added, could reduce the burden on police and improve services for people in emotional and psychological distress.
Some mental health crisis calls are already handled by specialized response teams, including the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division, known as B-HEARD. Police respond if a weapon or explicit violence is reported.
Stop-and-frisk allows officers to briefly detain, question, and pat down a person’s outer clothing in search of weapons. The practice requires reasonable suspicion, meaning an officer believes a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and is armed or dangerous.
The practice has damaged relations between officers and residents. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, roughly 90% of people stopped by the NYPD are Black and Latinx, while white people are stopped less often despite making up a large share of the city’s population.
The department’s difficulty building trust also stems from its history of aggressive enforcement and from concerns about how misconduct and discipline are handled.
The Amsterdam News contacted the NYPD for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
To make a noise complaint, call 311.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 for support.
