According to NYPD statistics, the rate of shooting victims increased all over the city in 2014 which is up by 43% in just the last month while a small number of guns are coming off the streets.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has again and again diverted attention from shootings to a decrease in homicides and claims he is not in tension due to gun violence.
It was told to The Post by some sources that it will only get worse in the hotter summer months and that the alarming trend is the consequence of a more “reactive” police force handicapped by the inability to use methods such as stop-and-frisk. According to a source, “Cops aren’t putting their hands on anyone”.
The latest CompStat figures show that 129 individuals were shot in the last month alone or 43.3% more than for the same period last year. There has been an overall 13.2% increase in shooting victims since January while 10.2% fewer guns have been recovered as compared to 2013.
A source told, “Under [NYPD Commissioner Ray] Kelly, we went after guns on the street. We stopped the guys in the precincts who we knew were criminals and took guns off them. [It was] proactive policing. We are a reactive police force now. We react to violence before going out and trying to stop it before it happens”.
According to another NYPD source, it’s clear that the criminals know that the city police officer’s hands are tied, thanks to legal challenges to stop-and-frisk and Bratton’s reluctance to push the crime-fighting method. “Gang-bangers were afraid to bring out guns because they may be randomly stopped and arrested. That’s all in the past now”.
Bratton focused on the city’s decreased rate of homicides since the starting of the year, which he discussed while talking to the reporters on Monday. He said, “As of this morning, I think we are down 24 homicides. That is preliminary. [But] if the current trend were to continue, we will fall under 300″. He said that despite the increase in shootings, the overall numbers are still low. He added, “We see an increase in shootings at the moment. But I’m comfortable that we’re aware of where they are happening, why they’re happening, who is doing it”.
According to the police critics of Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio, they both are supporting the stop-and-frisk foes than cracking down on crime.
A source said, “It’s all peace and love and joy with the new administration. We’re back in the Summer of Love in ’69 with this administration. They want everyone to like them”.
