STATElVlENTOFPOLICECOlV[lVUSSIONERRAYMONDW.KELLYBEFORETHENEWYORKCITYCOUNCILPUBLICSAFETYCOMlVlITTEEONTHEPRELIlVUNARYBUDGETFORFISCALYEAR2012MARCH15,2011Goodmorning.ThankyoufortheopportunitytodiscusstheMayor'sPreliminaryBudgetforthe2012FiscalYear.Before[presentthebudgethighlights,IwanttodiscussthePoliceDepartment'sworktodrivecrimedownlastyearandsofarin2011.IalsowanttodiscusstheterroristthreattoNewYorkCityandourplanstosecuretheWorldTradeCentersite.Aswewereremindedagainrecently,thegainsmadeinthepublic'ssafetyhaven'tbeenachievedwithoutsignificantriskstoourpoliceofficers.LastSundaymorning,PoliceOfficerAlainSchabergerwaspushedtohisdeathwhileattemptingtoarrestamanwithanextensivecriminalhistoryincludingdomesticviolence.OurthoughtsandprayerscontinuetogoouttoOfficerSchaberger'sfamilyatthistime.IalsowanttoacknowledgethecombinedresponseofourpoliceandfirerescuersonSundaytotheterriblebuscrashontheBronxborder.Theyworkedexpertlyunderhorrificcircumstancestosavethelivingandtoextricatethedeadinadignifiedway.Despiteatougheconomyandconstantpressureonourresources,themembersoftheDepartmentdrovecrimedownagainin2010by2%,ledbysharpdecreasesinburglaries,grandlarcenies,andautothefts.ThesecrimesfelltolevelsnotseenintheCityinatleast50years.Comparedto2009,wedidseeanincreaseinseveralcategoriesofviolentcrime,includinghomicidesandrapes.We'vetakenanumberofactionstoaddresstheseincreases.However,viewedincontextthesecrimesarestilllowbyhistoricalstandards.Lastyear'stotalof536murderswasthefourthlowestthecityhasrecordedsincereliabledatawaskeptonthiscrimein1963.Homicidesweredownby17%comparedto2001andrapesweredownby29%.Crimeisdownagainthisyearby4%andby41%since2001,beforewetookontheresponsibilityofcounterterrorism.Arecentstudybyoneofthenation'sforemostscholarsofcriminaljusticehelpstoputthehistoricaccomplishmentsofourpoliceofficersintoperspective.Dr.FranklinZimringoftheUniversityofCalifornia,BerkeleySchoolofLawwritesthat"overthelast20yearsafter1990,NewYorkerswerethebeneficiariesofthelargestandlongestsustaineddropinstreetcrimeeverexperiencedbyabigcityinthedevelopedworld."
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Hecallsthe80%reductionincrimeachievedduringthattime"aGuinnessBookofWorldRecordscrimedrop."OnefactorZimringidentifiesashelpingtosustainthistrendduringthepastdecadeis"hotspotpolicing,"otherwiseknownasOperationImpact,whichweimplementedin2003.Thankfully,we'vebeenabletokeepthisinitiativegoingstrongwiththegraduationofmorethan1100newofficersfromthePoliceAcademylastDecember,ourlargestclasssince200S.AllofitsmemberswereassignedtoOperationImpact.AsIsaid,we'realsoveryhopefulaboutsomenewcommunitypartnershipswe'veestablished.Lastsummer,wewereapproachedbyagroupofministersfromprominentAfricanAmericanchurchesinBrooklynaboutwhatwecoulddotogethertoaddressviolentcrimeintheircommunity.WeknowfromthedatathatblackandHispanicNewYorkersaredisproportionatelythevictimsofsuchcrime.Lastyear,thesegroupsmadeup92%ofallmurdervictimsand9S%ofallshootingvictims.Aswaswidelyreportedinthemedialastweek,aPoliceDepartmentanalysisofhomicidevictimsin2010showeda31%increaseinthenumberofAfricanAmericansmurderedlastyear.WorkingwiththemembersoftheBrooklynClergyinitiative,wedevelopedanactionplantoengageneighborhoodyouth,reduceganginvolvement,andstopviolenceinthecommunity.Womeninourexecutivecorpsareteamingupwithgrandmotherswhoareprimarycare-giverstoengageat-riskyouthandkeepthemoutofharm'sway.We'vealsoexpandedsomeofourmosteffectivecommunityprograms,includingourChurchGunBuy-Backinitiative.Since200S,we'veheldtheseeventsin50churchesacrossthecity.Weoffermembersofthepublicbankcardstheycanredeemfor$200cashforanyoperablehandguntheyturninand$20foranyriflesandshotguns,noquestionsasked.OurlatestGunBuy-BackwasheldinDecemberinpartnershipwiththeReverendAISharptonandhisNationalActionNetwork.Injustsixhoursmorethan350firearmsweresurrenderedattwochurchesinHarlem,bringingthetotalnumberofweaponsrecoveredthroughthisprogramtomorethan6,500intwoyears.Thatnumberisalsostarkevidenceofhowmanyillegalgunsareoutthere.TakingweaponsotTthestreetsresultsinsafercommunitiesandfarfewerviolentencountersbetweenthepoliceandthepublic.It'soneofthereasonswhy,lastyear,policeofficerswereengagedinthefewestshootingincidentssince1972,ayearafterthedepartmentfirstbegantrackingthisdata.In1971,93peoplewereshotandkilledinconfrontationswiththepolice.In2010,eightpeoplewereshotandkilledinconfrontationswiththepolice,thefewestin40years.2
Whenitcomestotherestraineduseoffirearms,we'vemadealotofprogressovertimeandincomparisontoothermajorpolicedepartments,whichhavetwicetoeighttimesourrateoffatalpoliceshootings.We'vealsoworkedveryhardtoimprovethetoneofpolice-communityrelations,inpartbyhavingapolicedepartmentthatismorereflectiveofthecity.Since2002we'vehadtohireandtrainnearlyhalfofthedepartment.Thishasaffordedustheopportunitytorecruitwidely.Theresultisadepartmentmorediversethanithaseverbeen.In2006forthefirsttimeevertherankofpoliceofficerbecamemajorityminority.OurmostrecentAcademyclassincludedofficersbornin53countrieswhospeak48differentlanguages.That'stypicalofrecentclasses.Thelastsixofthemhaveincludedofficersborninatotalof88countries.Wedon'tpursuediversityforthesakeofit.Wedoitbecauseitmakesusabetter,stronger,fairerorganization,onethatworksetTectivelywiththecommunitytofightcrimeandterrorism.Notonlyareourpoliceofficersdoinganexceptionaljobfightingcrimeundertoughcircumstances,theyarealsodoingeverythingtheycantoprotecttheCityfromanotherterroristattack.WhenitcomestodefendingtheCityagainstthisthreatwehavetofacethefacts.NewYorkremainsthenumberonetargetofradicalIslamicterrorism.We'vebeenthesubjectoftwelveplotssinceSeptember
11th,
morethananyotherU.S.city.ThelatestoneinvolvesacollegestudentinTexaswhoexploitedourfederalimmigrationprocesstoobtainastudentvisa,traveltotheUnitedStates,andgatherthematerialstomakeabomb.KhalidAl-Dawsari,anativeofSaudiArabia,wasarrestedbyfederalagentstwoweeksagowhenhetriedtopurchase10bottlesofphenol,oneofthreeingredientsintheexplosiveTNP.Hehadalreadyamassedlargequantitiesoftheothertwoingredients,nitricandsulfuricacid.TwoitemsinthiscaseareofparticularrelevancetoNewYork:alinkonAI-Dawsari'scomputertovideofeedsfromthecity'strafficcameras,andaplantospendaweekhere.Theseappearedonalistofthingstodoinpreparationforsettingoffcarbombssomewhereduringrushhour.AsI'vesaidbefore,theCityhasnoshortageofhighvaluetargets.Sowefocusoureffortsontheareastheterroristsaremostlikelytoattack.BynowthemembersoftheCouncilareveryfamiliarwithourLowerandMidtownManhattanSecurityInitiatives.Wecurrentlyhaveabout1,400camerasfeedingintoourLowerManhattanSecurityCoordinationCenterfromthesesensitiveareas.We'replanningtoaddanother1,600.IalsowanttosayafewwordsaboutourplanstosecuretheWorldTradeCentercomplex.Thisareahasbeenstruckbyterroriststwice,in1993and2001.In2006,wedisruptedanalQaedaplottobombthePATHtraintunnelandretainingwallatGround
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