Zero tolerance: A case study of police policies and practices in New York City

The police reforms introduced in New York City by William Bratton are now h ailed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the epitome of "zero-tolerance" policing, a nd he credits them for winning dramatic reductions in the city 's crime rat e. But the number of citizen complaints filed before the Civilian Complaint Review Board has jumped skyward, as has the number of lawsuits alleging po lice misconduct and abuse of force. Comparison of crime rates, arrest stati stics, and citizen complaints in New York with those in Sun Diego-M,here a more problem-oriented community policing strategy has been implemented-give s strong evidence that effective crime control can be achieved while produc ing fewer negative impacts on urban neighborhoods.