New York Style Policing

[naomi24]

Leading on from Legend's question on young people killing each other, do you think it would help if we adopted the style of policing that New York has adopted? New York had a big problem with gang culture, etc, and having been there several times, I would say it's now one of the safest cities I've ever visited. There's a policeman (or several) on practically every corner and people can walk around without fear. It's not often I like the idea of adopting American ways, but in this case I think they've got it spot on. They've turned a violent place into a safe one, so could that be the answer for this country?.

[naomi24]

pingpong, I'm not negating her experiences - merely pointing out that New York is now a safer place.

It's ridiculous to say stronger policing is not a good thing when clearly in New York it is working, and it's working well. If they hadn't taken this initiative, would that have made New York a safer place for minorities? No. If certain members of the police force are intent on victimising particular sections of society, they'll do it anyway, and that needs to be addressed separately.

[Bellringer]

It's called Zero Tolerance. Everything from riding a bike on the pavement, dropping litter, drunk etc to big time stuff.
It was tried in Middlesbrough and seemed to be working but the bloke who started it was set up and railroaded out of the job. He is now the Mayor of Middlesbrough. But Zero Tolerance has disappeared.

[NJOK]

Wow. 22 responses to this and not a single stat to back it up.

I hope all of our public services are reformed on the basis of your sight seeing tour of New York. What were the schools like?

[naomi24]

I wasn't on a sightseeing tour - we have friends there so we go often - and I've experienced the difference between before and after. I'm not trying to convince anyone - I simply asked if their methods could work here. If you want statistics, look them up.