My starting point: All societies have to deal with social problems. The hallmark of a democracy is that while it addresses social problems, it is equally concerned with safeguarding civil and human rights. This is what distinguishes it from a totalitarian society. It is has often been said: "Mussolini made the trains run on time."

"There was no street crime in Nazi Germany."

* * *

Recently, I appeared on a segment of "60 Minutes," dealing with the question of whether or not NYC was enjoying a "renaissance" under Mayor Giuliani. At a meeting in preparation for the show, it became apparent to me that indeed, we are still living in "two societies," as the Kerner Commission noted in the late '60's--and that NYC is really TWO separate cities.

The producers of my "60 Minutes" segment came from the Midwest, were new to New York, and enjoyed an upscale life in the city. They and their friends, they told me, thought NYC was enjoying an economic boom and had become a much safer and nicer place to live. I told them that where you stood on the socio-economic ladder and racial hierarchy determines how you feel about conditions in the city.

At the beginning, they didn't believe me when I told them that in the city I live in, the city my community lives in, police routinely roll up on people and demand identification, often at gunpoint. They didn't believe the stories of the hundreds of young people of color who are stopped everyday and ILLEGALLY searched. They didn't believe the accounts of the dozens of people who have been killed by racist cops because they were Latino, Black, or Asian.

This is a reality in my society, in my city. A NY 1-NY Observer Poll in September (9/10/97) illustrated this again: * 71% of city voters believe police brutality is a serious problem (89% of African Americans, 85% of Latinos, 60% of whites) *

Although Mayor Giuliani and Police Commissioner Safir tried to portray the torture of Abner Louima by officers from the 70th Precinct as an "isolated incident," 54% of city voters saw the case as part of a widespread pattern of abusive police behavior (80% of African Americans, 71% of Latinos, 39% of whites). * 45% of city voters believe there are certain precincts where brutality is tolerated by commanders. (61% of African Americans, 49% of Latinos, 37% of whites)

Today, we are asking you, as congressional representatives, to look at this issue from the perspective of the inner-city communities that bear the brunt of police brutality and misconduct. We are asking you to understand the increase in police brutality in NYC and across the country in the context of larger socio-economic developments and a series of policy choices that have been made nationally and locally.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT

Last year, the NY Times ran a series called "The Downsizing of America." The series told readers that in one-third of all households in the country, a family member had lost a job. The Times reported (3/3/96) that workers with at least some college education made up the majority of people whose jobs were eliminated in the last five years. In addition to downsizing here, American corporations have found a way to maximize profits by moving to low-wage nations abroad and closing factories here.

This "global factory" is one cause of the deindustrialization of the U.S. Manufacturing jobs are disappearing, while most new jobs are in the lower-paying service sectors. Globalization and deindustrialization don't only result in higher unemployment. They cause a ripple effect.

Generally, for each manufacturing job that is lost, three-and-a-half additional jobs are affected--in support industries, service industries and in local small businesses. As jobs are lost, local governments face a drop in income from both corporate taxes and local taxes paid by employees.

At the same time, the demand for social services goes up, as newly unemployed members of the community try to adjust and survive. One study estimated that every 1% increase in unemployment, lasting for 6 years, is associated with 37,000 deaths, 920 suicides, 650 homicides, 500 deaths from cirrhosis of the liver, 4,000 state mental health admissions, and 3,300 state prison admissions (from The Deindustrialization of America)

Taken together, globalization, deindustrialization, and the restructuring of the economy have resulted in a decreased need for both unskilled labor AND educated workers. There has been a shift to a low-paying service and high-technology economy--the "Two Cities" theory manifests itself again. However, most people of color are kept out of the high tech and growth sectors of the economy through constantly increasing educational requirements and outright discrimination.

The American economy, as it is structured today, cannot absorb all those who want to work; and it cannot reward its members for hard work and education. Corresponding to a decline in America's need for our labor, today, we see public schools in inner city communities being allowed to deteriorate educationally and physically. We also see the doors to the universities being shut in our faces.

Those of us who survive the public school system, and go on, face growing obstacles in the colleges too. Open Admissions are dead; and tuition rises every year. Cuts in financial aid coincide with the nationwide attack on special admissions programs, ethnic studies, and student support services. The economy does not need our young people; and it seems everything possible is being done to blunt our educational dreams.

HOW THIS PLAYS OUT ON THE LOCAL LEVEL

The NY city economy is deeply divided. We live in a two-tier economy--in "Two Cities." In three key measures of economic health, unemployment, job growth, and the local rate of inflation, New York is amongst the weakest urban economies. New York has an unemployment rate of almost 10%; it is about 50% for Black and Latino youth. The city ranks ninth in job creation among the ten largest cities.

Approximately 90,000 elementary students don't have classroom seats. These realities are the result of policy choices and spending decisions that have been made by the mayor and his municipal government. For example, in 1996, the budget of the Youth Services Department was cut by $15 million.

At the same time, the Police Department spent an estimated $10 million on a new "Youth Strategy," which consisted of approximately 150,000 "interventions" with youth, picking up school truants and filing two kinds of juvenile reports on youth perceived to be acting "improperly" (1996 City Project report: "Doing Less with Less, Doing Less with More).

Deep cuts to youth programs and the increase in juvenile arrests go hand in hand. A 1997 report by the Citizen's Committee concluded that with declines in funding and roughly 1 in 14 youths arrested annually by the NYPD, youths age 13 to 20 have a greater chance of getting arrested than they do of getting a job after school or having a community youth program to go to after school (Citizen's Committee: "Keeping Track of Children," 1997).

Is it any wonder that increasing numbers of us believe that government has adopted a policy of replacing the coach with the cop. During Giuliani's first year in office, juvenile arrests jumped to 98,553, an increase of 22,229 over 1993. "Four of five arrests in Giuliani's first year were for non-violent offenses such as disorderly conduct and drug possession, and half were for violations so minor that they did not require fingerprints, just a summons according to the Division of Criminal Justice."

Arrests of youth for disorderly conduct, a charge that is used to cover everything from hanging out on a corner to playing a radio that a cop decides is "too loud," jumped from 4,516 in 1993 to 7,579 in 1994. The NYPD's "quality of life" sweeps are jailing an average of 280 young people a day for activities like playing loud music, not having "proper identification," loitering, and drinking beer in the streets. (Newsday, 11/27/95) Hundreds of people are spending hours, even days in crowded holding cells, just waiting to be charged.

Former police commissioner Bratton predicted that his "quality of life" street sweeps would "probably" result in some people's rights being violated; but that it was worth it (NY Times, 6/20/96) These arrests are not making our communities safer. They are ADDING to the worries families now have about their loved ones' safety. Communities of color, in particular, are being told that in order to fight certain forms of crime, we must accept widespread violations of civil and human rights and an increase of police abuse--a different kind of crime.

FIGHTING CRIME - "BROKEN WINDOWS" THEORY

The theory upon which Mayor Giuliani and the NYPD have based their crime-fighting strategy is known as the "Broken Windows" theory," a style of policing that's based on attacking "quality of life" offenses and enforcing behavior that had not been considered "criminal" previously (i.e., drinking in public, loud noise, panhandling). The "Broken Windows" theory holds that petty offenses like these create an atmosphere of disorder that leads to more serious offenses. I cannot go into a detailed analysis or critique of this theory here, but I'd like to share with you some of the points regarding this strategy that we raised to the Philadelphia City Council recently.

They've hired former NYPD Commissioner Bratton as a consultant and are considering implementing the same strategy in Philadelphia, as are a number of other cities across the country. First, a few words about the drop in crime. * Crime is going down all over the country, including in cities that have not implemented the "Quality of Life" enforcement strategy. * Police must be given some of the credit for the reduction of violent crime; but other factors must be included and NURTURED as well. *

The crime rate began going down in NYC during the last two years of the Dinkins administration. It is dropping in all the major urban centers. _ Demographic shift: 15-14 year old cohort (most "crime-prone") has declined. (Daily News, 1/14/97) _ Crack has declined as the "drug of choice." Heroin produces different kinds of crime. __Thousands of youths across the country are involved in developing and maintaining gang truces. _ Church and community-initiated "Stop the Violence activities and campaigns are widespread.

Second, the theory upon which NYC is basing its crime-fighting efforts discusses "urban and community decay" in isolation from the issues of jobs, government and private sector disinvestments and cuts in youth programs. We argue that they can't be separated; and that an anti-crime strategy that focuses on "quality of life" offenses, while failing to create new jobs that pay a living wage and continuing to decimate youth programs and support services only serves to WORSEN the quality of life for inner-city communities.

The "quality of life" law-enforcement strategy has been accompanied by an increase in police killings, routine stops and searches, and police brutality complaints: from 3,596 in 1993, to 4,877 in 1994, to 5,618 in 1995, to 5,596 in 1996. In 1995, with the NYPD's "quality of life" arrest program in full swing, we saw increases in the following categories of complaints: guns fired (+21%), guns pointed (+36%), use of pepper spray (+254%), improper search of person (Up from 501 in 1994 to 544 in 1995/+9%), and unjustified threat of arrest (+56%) (Newsday, 4/25/96). The cases that make the news are the exceptions, not the rule.

There are THOUSANDS of cases of harassment, unnecessary use of force, and the casual use of racial slurs--and only a small number of these are ever reported. As a matter of fact, these civil rights violations are SO frequent that lawyers won't even deal with them--unless there is a serious physical injury. Inevitably, the routine violations of civil and human rights being experienced daily by young people of color will also be felt in the larger community. (Like how the drug plague didn't become "news" until it spread to white communities>) A number of recent articles in the NY Times reflect the growing number of middle-class whites who are now having THEIR rights violated. "Complaints of police misconduct, from rudeness to physical abuse have risen with arrests.

From 1994 to 1996, the city received 8,316 court claims of abuse by officers, compared with 5,983 for the THREE previous years. And from 1994 to 1996, the city paid about $70 million as settlements or judgments--compared with the about $48 million in the three previous years" ("In NY the Handcuffs Are One-Size-Fits-All. NY Times) Commenting on changes in the NYPD under the new "quality of life" arrest strategy, the head of the Latino Officer's Association, Anthony Miranda, said: "It's like all bets were off, everything was fair game. You're talking about a greater level of intrusion in people's lives."

Sgt. Miranda says the strategy can be an effective tool when used with tolerance and common sense." But he said some officers use the new powers disproportionately against minority youths, a view reflected by others in the city.... Today, if an officer has any suspicion, they can pull you to the side and frisk you,” said Angel Rodriguez, the executive director of the Andrew Clifford Clover Youth Program on the Lower East Side. Now it's no longer 'probable cause.'"

"Even George Kelling, a Rutger's University criminal-justice professor who coauthored the "Broken Windows" theory--and helped Bratton implement it--now worries that his ideas are getting twisted on the ground. 'There is enormous potential for abuse,' he says. He criticizes departments that encourage cops to demand IDs from residents or conduct neighborhood drug sweeps, indiscriminately stopping and frisking people--too often involving excessive force."

Not only do these policies fail to make our communities safer; but they also erode the trust between police and community that is crucial if ANY crime reduction approaches are to succeed. But noting erodes that trust more than the rise in police killings and beatings and the invariable cover-ups that follow.

THE "MESSAGE" COPS ARE GETTING -- NOT ALL CRIMES ARE EQUAL

An unidentified police officer was quoted in a NY Post article that reported a 37% increase in complaints of brutality and racism against police in the year after Mayor Giuliani took office and Police Commissioner Bratton instituted the "quality of life" arrest strategy. The unidentified cop told the paper: "Bratton wants us to break heads--we'll break heads." (NY Post 1/11/95) In addition to the increase in brutality complaints (only the tip of the iceberg), in addition to the hundreds of cases of unjustified harassment of young people, we are also seeing an increase in police killings and cover-ups.

Although police brutality is a crime, neither the mayor nor the NYPD has implemented a zero-tolerance strategy for THIS kind of crime. In addition, another kind of crime has also increased. Bias crimes, racial and homophobic hate crimes have gone up 27% under Mayor Giuliani.

You have heard the testimony of the families of Manuel Mayi and Jovan Gonzalez, both victims of racist gangs. In both these cases, the NYPD has actively discouraged the families from seeking justice. Although the Mayi family has hired its own investigator and now has the names of the members of the gang that killed Manny, including one who has since become a police officer--the NYPD has refused to act.

The mayor, while he was campaigning for reelection promised to reinstate a $10,000 reward and to name a Queens street after Manny Mayi--but he's done nothing. In the Jovan Gonzalez case, the police are refusing to circulate a police artist's sketch of one of the gang members. Obviously, when they talk about "fighting crime" and "zero tolerance," they are not talking about police crimes or racial crimes against Latinos and other people of color.

CONCLUSION

The issue of police brutality and misconduct cannot be examined in a vacuum. Today, as globalization and deindustrialization bring profound changes to the U.S., we see an economy that cannot provide jobs for all who want them; and we watch as the youth of our communities are locked out of the U.S. economy.

The only program America seems to be willing to invest in for our young people is expanded prison spending. We see our youth become the raw material that these prisons process--while whole upstate communities thrive from prison-related industries. Indeed, the prison industry is one of the fastest growing and most profitable in the country.

The new policing strategy that has become synonymous with Mayor Giuliani and the NYPD is being projected as a model for the entire nation. But you can't evaluate it in isolation from the disinvestments in education, jobs, and developmental and supportive programs. This is how the poor and racially subordinated communities that have been locked out of the economy see this policing approach.

Occurring simultaneously with government disinvestments in our youth, and economic marginalization, we believe its real purpose is to intimidate our communities into silence (about the direction the nation is taking, about our being locked out of the economy), to put us on the defensive, and to lower our expectations.

Today, families consider themselves lucky if their children grow up without being arrested or killed. Many inner city youth consider it a rite of passage to go to jail; they EXPECT to be arrested and jailed. This is a crime that has been committed against us: the lowering of our expectations, the taking away of hope from young people. Systemic police brutality and the institutionalized cover-ups that invariably follow are part of this crime.

Courtesy of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights' Justice Committte