Most cops hate the newspaper. I don’t. But that’s probably because growing up, there was more newspaper blood in my family than police blood. And a healthy freedom of the press is one of the founding principles of this nation. And just think for just a few bits every day, comics, sports, news, opinion, it’s all dropped off on my…
Tag: police culture
Schoolcraft sues NYPD for $50 Million
Don’t hold your breath waiting for this to sort itself out. Here’s what I’ve already said on this one. [Update: A link to the lawsuit.] (Update with working links to all the posts on Schoolcraft.)
“I feel as though…”
These are adopted from my field notes: It’s 1am and ______ and I are on the way to John’s Express to pick up a pizza I ordered 10 min. earlier. They said they’re closing at 1am. I’m hungry. We’re going south on Broadway past Monument and the Hopkins folks are waving to us. I wave back. But they really want…
Rape Claims in Baltimore
While I was out, there’s been a bit of a brouhaha over a Sunreportthe fact that “since 2004, Baltimore has led the country with more than 30 percent of rape reports marked ‘unfounded’ by detectives, meaning police believed the victim was lying.” And though I applaud Bealefeld for his generally sensitive handling of this issue, forcing officers to call a…
Schoolcraft Tapes
The more of these tapes I hear, the more I think how good these secretly recorded NYPD officers sound. And this is the best [read: worst] they could come up with? To me it shows what a good job most men and women in the NYPD do. In the latest batch, particular kudos to Lt Rafael Mascol, who offers some…
Cops Cuff Cop at Mets Game
Cops arrest an off-duty cop for being drunk and obnoxious at the ballpark. This doesn’t surprise me. But I mention it for those who talk too much of the Blue Wall of Silence and some secret code of brotherhood and that cops never arrest another cop unless they have to and somebody is hurt. Now I’m sure (and would hope)…
Hyper-Alertness
I was listening to my all-time favorite interviewer, Milt Rosenberg, talk to a few Chicago cops. Like most cops talking in public, this interview starts out a bit stilted, but they open up by the end. [I was on this show last year–my life’s dream! I’ve been listening to Uncle Milt for about 30 years (and I’m only 38). He…
Workplace Conflict Scenarios
There’s an article in the New York Times that isn’t actually supposed to about police. An academic study asked participants how often they experienced eight “workplace conflict scenarios.” These are: * Someone treating them unfairly * Someone blaming or criticizing them for something that wasn’t their fault * Someone failing to do the work that needed to be done, or…
School[craft] Readings
The NYPD Tapes, Part 2, by Graham Rayman in the Village Voice. (And a link to my comments on Part 1) Commentary: “Oh, You Mean Those Quotas” by Radley Balko. “Those Schoolcraft Tapes” by Leonard Levitt. Update with working links to all the posts on Schoolcraft.
The NYPD Tapes
A reader pointed me to this story in New York’s Village Voice. In the 81st Precinct in New York City, a cop, Schoolcraft, secretly recorded roll call and other happenings over the course of the year. Bold. Though all he seems to show is something we all should already know. In the NYPD, everybody is under intense pressure to produce…