When it comes to crime in New York City, it’s not only about statistics.
That was made crystal clear last Monday, when the city saw two tragic deaths on the same day.
Police Officer Jonathan Diller was murdered while performing a routine traffic stop in Queens.
The suspect, Guy Rivera, had been arrested 21 times before, a robust record considering that Rivera is just 34 years old.
Some critics ridiculously said that the murder showed that cops should no longer be involved in traffic stops.
Ludicrous. That’s blaming Diller for being killed while doing his duty.
The slaying is actually an argument for the rollback of Democratic soft-on-crime policies that have put all of us in danger by returning violent, recidivist criminals to our streets. Rivera’s rap sheet included arrests for drugs and assault.
That same day, 53-year-old Jason Volz was killed after being pushed onto the tracks in front of a No. 4 train in East Harlem.
The suspect, Carlton McPherson, had been arrested more than once in the past, according to media reports.
His family said that he had also suffered from mental problems, meaning that another troubled New Yorker fell through the cracks.
It was a tragic day for Diller and Volz, and for all of New York City.
More cops are set to patrol the subways, joining the National Guard soldiers who were dispatched by Gov. Kathy Hochul the other week.
While overall crime is nowhere near what it was in the bad old days of the 1980s and early 1990s, any killing in the subway is going to generate outsized headlines.
Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, was right when he said that not only does the city have to keep residents safe, it has to make them feel safe as well.
And that’s where New York is failing. Because people don’t feel safe.
We’re even seeing it on Staten Island, the safest borough in what we used to proudly call the safest big city in America.
A motorist was shot by a retired cop the other day after that motorist menaced the cop with a machete during a road rage incident.
That’s right. One motorist menaced another with a machete. Who drives around with a machete in their car?
Imagine the guy leaving his home that day: “Got my keys, got my wallet. Got my phone. Oh, wait, I forgot my machete.”
It makes you wonder what other kind of crazy weapons motorists out there might be carrying. Careful who you honk at.
In another bad sign, women in Manhattan have reported being randomly punched in the face in yet more unprovoked attacks.
So don’t be fooled: crime is an issue, and it’s one that lands squarely on Adams’ desk, no matter what the crime stats say. Public safety is any mayor’s number-one job.
The city and state can send as many cops and soldiers into the subway as they like. But if arrests don’t lead to punishment, there’s no deterrent. The bad people have nothing to fear.
That’s where lawmakers come in. Because the laws have to change. More crimes have to be offenses where bail is required. Recidivist criminals need to be treated like the threats they are and taken off the street.
When lawmakers first implement their criminal justice reforms a few years ago, there were warning voices that it would have a negative effect on public safety.
Crime has not exploded as some feared and predicted. But the city, the subway system in particular, is different than it was under Mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. It’s less safe.
More importantly, it feels less safe. And that’s what soft-on-crime lawmakers have to address.
They’re the ones who caused it.
Slaying of NYPD Officer Diller, subway murder show that NYC has a real crime problem (opinion)
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31.03.2024
When it comes to crime in New York City, it’s not only about statistics.
That was made crystal clear last Monday, when the city saw two tragic deaths on the same day.
Police Officer Jonathan Diller was murdered while performing a routine traffic stop in Queens.
The suspect, Guy Rivera, had been arrested 21 times before, a robust record considering that Rivera is just 34 years old.
Some critics ridiculously said that the murder showed that cops should no longer be involved in traffic stops.
Ludicrous. That’s blaming Diller for being killed while doing his duty.
The slaying is actually an argument for the rollback of Democratic soft-on-crime policies that have put all of us in danger by returning violent, recidivist criminals to our streets. Rivera’s rap sheet included arrests for drugs and assault.
That same day, 53-year-old Jason Volz was killed after being pushed onto the........
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