NYPD Does Next-To-Nothing To Curb Its Own Rampant Placard Abuse: Study
Only 76 tickets went to cops illegally parked in "self-enforcement zones" near NYPD precincts in 2022, a bombshell watchdog study found. A study by the Department of Investigation has found that the NYPD has done little to curb its rampant placard abuse. Only 76 illegal parking tickets were issued out of an already-scant 876 in self-enforcement zones in 2022, according to the study. The study recommended the NYPD eliminate these zones and proposed sweeping changes to city parking permits. It also recommended that the city's three agencies that issue permits should also develop a unified permit system. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio had promised a "three-strikes" crackdown on placard abusers, but only two placards were pulled during this 19-month enforcement effort. The report also revealed that over 90 percent of 311 complaints about parking permit misuse didn't end with a summons, a higher rate than calls about illegal parking in general.
ที่ตีพิมพ์ : 4 อาทิตย์ที่แล้ว โดย Matt Troutman ใน Politics
Only 76 illegal parking tickets went to cops out of an already-scant 876 issued in so-called "self-enforcement zones" during a five-month span in 2022, according to a city Department of Investigation study. The study released Wednesday recommended that not only the NYPD eliminate those self-enforcement zones, but also offered a host of sweeping changes to city parking permits.
"The issuance and revocation of City-issued parking placards, and consistent, equitable enforcement of parking laws, is a quality-of-life issue for all New Yorkers," said Jocelyn Strauber, commissioner for the Department of Investigation, in a statement. "Parking permit abuse obstructs streets and sidewalks, creating potentially dangerous conditions for pedestrians and motorists alike. And a lack of enforcement of parking laws with respect to permit-holders sends a message of special treatment that weakens public confidence in City government."
Placard abuse has been a long-standing frustration for New Yorkers, or at least those concerned by public servants who seemingly view themselves above the law. A popular social media account — placardabuse — daily documents what its owner calls "corruption" by city workers parked in bus lanes, metered parking for commercial vehicles and more.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio had promised a "three-strikes" crackdown on placard abusers. But, like many of his promises, it went unfulfilled: only two placards were pulled during the 19-month enforcement effort.
Errol Louis, a prominent NY1 anchor, has deemed placard abuse as nothing less than a citywide scandal by the NYPD.
"If cops were openly stealing bagels from the nearest bodega every day on every shift, people would be outraged and (1 Police Plaza) would make heads roll," he recently tweeted. "This isn't much different, in my opinion." Much of the Department of Investigation study consisted of double-checking the NYPD's reported illegal parking numbers. Investigators consistently found more permit violations than those reported by NYPD officers at the same locations, according to the study. Cops are potentially only identifying roughly 8 percent of all illegally parked vehicles, based on the investigators' numbers, the study found. Likewise, DOI investigators found NYPD officers who responded to 311 calls about parking permit misuse typically closed those cases within 20 minutes, a timeframe "so tight as to raise questions about whether NYPD took sufficient steps to address the complaint," the study states. More than 90 percent of 311 complaints about parking permit misuse didn't end with a summons, a higher rate than calls about illegal parking in general, according to the study.
And NYPD officers failed "integrity tests" in which investigators reported parking permit misuse to 311 and watched to see what cops did, the study found. Turns out, police on all six tests didn't take any action, and didn't even respond at all to three complaints, according to the study. The study not only recommended that NYPD self-enforcement zones be scrapped, including the DOI's own self-enforcement zone, but also that the city's three agencies that issue permits — the NYPD, the Department of Transportation and Department of Education — also develop one unified permit until a fully paperless placard system is put in place. They should conduct an audit of all placards to find whether any should be revoked under the city's "three strikes" law, the study recommended. "The results of that audit should be publicly reported," the study states. "Such audit and public reporting should be conducted
annually."
หัวข้อ: Law Enforcement, NYPD