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Nobody Murdered, Shot, Stabbed, Or Slashed In NYC For 24 Magical Hours This Month
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Mar 11, 2014
Modified Mar 11, 2014
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By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Mar 11, 2014
Modified Mar 11, 2014
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Today was a big day for Bill de Blasio's glacially slow mayoral appointment calendar: he named the heads of several Criminal Justice positions for the city, as Police Commissioner Bratton took the opportunity to brag about his early record on safety.
Before announcing the heads of the Department of Correction and the Department of Probation (Joseph Ponte, a Marines vet who previously served as commissioner for the Maine Department of Corrections, will head DOC, while Ana Bermúdez will rise from Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Probation to Commissioner) NYPD Commissioner Bratton took the opportunity to point out that on March 5th, no one was murdered, stabbed, or slashed in NYC:
The number of homicides as of midnight last night - that we’ve had 13 fewer homicides so far this year - we’ve had 46 versus 59 at the same point in time last year. And shootings are also down as the mayor has indicated. We’ve had 141 versus 166 - that’s shootings with victims.
In fact, on March 5th, we had a 24-hour period in this city of 8.5 million people, that has 3 million visitors on an average day - on that day, there were no murders, there were no shooting victims, there were no stabbing victims, there were no slashing victims. We can’t find a day like that in the history of the department since we’ve been keeping records. And, in February, that we also had the benefit of a 10-day period of time in which there were no murders in the city.
"I just want to just amplify," Mayor de Blasio said. "10 days straight in New York City in which there was not a single murder is an extraordinary achievement for the NYPD. I feel, as someone who cares so deeply for the neighborhoods of this city, that March 5th is a day I hope we will celebrate for a long time. March 5th, as the Commissioner said, not a single murder, not a single shooting, not a single stabbing."
But Capital New York pointed out that last year New York City pulled off the same feat (twice). A Bratton spokesperson said the Commissioner had just mixed up his stats and had meant to refer to the ten day no-murder stretch in February.
Still, Bratton's time as commissioner coincides with the same downward trend in crime that New York City has experienced for the past several years.
Later in the same press conference, Bratton was asked his thoughts on the legalization of marijuana.
I’ve always been very supportive of the use of marijuana for medical purposes. I’m not supportive of legalizing it for other than that purpose. I’m very supportive of some of the efforts that are being made in this state to approach the reality of how drugs are used here and the idea of not trying to criminalize everybody who does use it. But I think it would be a terrible mistake to legalize it for everybody. I think those states that have done that are going to have significant problems going forward. But for medical purposes, I’m a long champion of that, going back to when it was not a popular position to take.
Bratton failed to elaborate as to the "significant problems" that states like Colorado or Washington will soon face.
Tagged
Bill Bratton
crime
mayor de blasio
nypd
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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