March 23, 2004

Police Unions Demand Audit Of Crime Statistics

Two police unions Tuesday demanded an audit of crime statistics in every precinct, charging that pressure from City Hall to keep crime low leads commanders to “cook the books.”

At a news conference in Lower Manhattan, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and Sergeants’ Benevolent Association detailed earlier allegations that precinct commanders underreport crime – downgrading grand larcenies to misdemeanors, for example – to meet the expectations of superiors and political leaders.

“We’ve reached a point where some local NYPD commanders are forced to falsify stats in order to maintain the appearance of a continued reduction in crime,” said PBA President Pat Lynch. “Some precinct commanders are cooking the books in order to make themselves look good.”

The NYPD categorically denies the accusation, but the unions want the department to conduct an audit to determine whether crime statistics are accurate.

A spokesman for the NYPD, Paul Browne, said in a statement: “‘our police officers have made New York the safest city in America. Only the PBA disagrees."

But the head of the sergeants' union said the PBA aren't alone in their suspicions.

“There was a policy that was established -- crime would not go up -- and it was enforce through a fear factor,” said Edward Mullins, the head of the sergeants’ union. “If you speak with sergeants out there, it's a hostile atmosphere and no one wants to be the one to go public with it.”

The 10th precinct in Chelsea is the only place where the NYPD acknowledges a recent problem after the precinct under-reported more than 200 crimes in 2003, but says Internal Affairs investigated.

At another precinct, the 50th in the Bronx, the PBA alleges the books are inaccurate. But, the NYPD says four audits found statistics there are accurate.

Some of those accused of cooking the books are members of the Lieutenant's union, which fired back, saying "Lieutenants have been unfairly maligned by a small group of disgruntled police officers. Some of whom have their own disciplinary and performance issues."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg also sounded off saying the unions can't have it both ways.

"You can't have a billboard in Times Square [saying] you're doing a great job and therefore need a raise, and then the same guy goes out to his press conference and says success of the NYPD is inflated," said Bloomberg.

The city says the 10th Precinct is the exception and police watchdog Tom Reppetto says he has faith in the numbers because certain crime categories are easy to verify.

"Murder, for obvious reasons, and auto theft because insurance companies demand reports. Both of those categories have been going down for years and that gives me confidence in the general accuracy of NYPD reporting," said Reppetto.

Still, the PBA says an objective look at the numbers will prove otherwise.