8 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 7, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
These Queens precincts had most cop complaints
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
Th e 113th, 114th, 101st, 103rd and
105th Precincts have racked up the most
civilian complaints fi led against them
among the 15 precincts in Queens this
year, according to data by the Civilian
Complaint Review Board (CCRB).
Th e CCRB was formed in 1953 to
investigate police misconduct and went
through several iterations. It began as a
committee of three deputy police commissioners
who had authority to investigate
civilian complaints. Aft er public
pressure, Mayor David Dinkins established
the all-civilian board in 1993 and
the agency was granted subpoena power.
Th e agency collects extensive data on
police complaints and includes an investigative
staff that “conducts
investigations in
an impartial fashion,”
according to its website.
CCRB handles four
types of complaints
including excessive or
unnecessary force, abuse
of authority such as an
improper search, discourtesy
such as cursing
at someone or using foul
language, and off ensive
language like slurs about
a person’s race, ethnicity,
religion, sex, sexual
orientation or physical
disability.
In Queens, the two
precincts with the most
complaints include the
114th Precinct, which
encompasses Astoria
and parts of Long
Island City, Woodside
and Jackson Heights
and the 113th Precinct,
which serves Jamaica,
St. Albans, Hollis,
Springfi eld Gardens and
South Ozone Park.
Both precincts received 81 complaints
from Jan. 1 through Dec. 1, 2017. Th e
CCRB does not release data specifying
how many complaints fall under the four
categories.
In 2017, Queens residents fi led 721
complaints against the NYPD, making
it the borough with the least complaints
next to Staten Island precincts, which had
191 complaints fi led against them.
Th e 101st Precinct, which covers
Far Rockaway and Bayswater, had 79
complaints fi led against them in 2017.
According to CCRB data, the majority of
residents fi le complaints through phone
(65 percent), the CCRB’s website (14 percent)
and the agency’s call processing system
(11 percent).
Th e 103rd Precinct, which serves
Downtown Jamaica and parts of Hollis,
received 64 complaints from Jan. 1
through Dec. 1. of this year.
Th e 105th Precinct, which serves
Queens Village, Cambria Heights,
Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfi eld Gardens,
Bellerose, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park
and Floral Park, had 61 complaints fi led
against it.
Th e 105th Precinct covers 12.43 square
miles and 354 miles of roadway in southeast
Queens, making it the fi ft h largest
precinct in the city. In July, Mayor Bill
de Blasio announced that the city would
allocate resources to create the 116th
Precinct to lighten the load on 105th
Precinct offi cers. Queens residents had
been advocating for a new precinct for
more than 40 years.
Th e agency resolves complaints through
several ways including mediation, investigation
and discipline. Th rough mediation,
the civilian is put into a room with
the offi cer “in a safe, quiet and private
space to speak confi dentially about what
happened.”
Th e talk is mediated by a professional
mediator who is not affi liated with the
CCRB or the NYPD and more than 90
percent of CCRB mediations are successful,
according to the agency.
Investigations can take several months
to complete and civilians must make
in-person statements and look at photos
of offi cers to properly identify them.
A CCRB investigator will gather evidence,
including statements from both
witnesses and offi cers. Once completed,
a three-member panel from the board of
the CCRB will make a fi nding depending
on the evidence presented.
If the CCRB fi nds that an offi cer committed
misconduct, the case is sent to the
Police Commissioner who has the sole
authority to discipline an offi cer.
According to CCRB Data, in investigations
of 4,170 complaints fi led in 2017,
2,278 led to no action begin taken against
the offi cer. A total of 605 complaints
resulted in a summons and 1,230 complaints
led to an arrest.
Offi cials for CCRB told QNS that the
agency has seen a steady decline in complaints
in the last several years due to a
number of factors. One of these factors is
the Floyd v. City of New York case, which
ruled that the NYPD’s use of stop and
frisk was unconstitutional.
In 2016, the NYPD conducted 12,404
stops, which marks a dramatic decrease
from its peak in 2011, when the NYPD
conducted 685,724 stops, according to
NYPD data.
CCRB offi cials also said there are a
variety of reasons for the number of
complaints in each precinct, including
how familiar residents are with the agency.
CCRB holds several outreach activities
in each borough and holds its board
meetings around the fi ve boroughs each
month.
“Th e number of CCRB complaints has
steadily decreased over the past several
years,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “Th e
NYPD continues to build trust and relationships
every day, especially through
neighborhood policing.”
Photo via PixaBay
The Civilian Complaint Review Board collects extensive data on complaints fi led by civilians against the NYPD.
Crime still falls
across the city
Th e NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced on Dec. 4 that the city in
November saw the lowest number of
murders and shooting incidents than
any November since the NYPD started
recording crimes.
Th ere were four fewer murders,
17 fewer shooting incidents and 656
fewer index crimes than there were in
November 2016. Index crimes include
homicide, rape, robbery, burglary,
aggravated assault, larceny, motor
vehicle theft and arson.
“Crime in New York City has fallen
steadily throughout 2017, and
November was no diff erent,” said
Police Commissioner James P.
O’Neill in a statement. “As we stand
on the verge of a record-shattering
year, neighborhood policing continues
to deepen relationships between
our communities and the NYPD. Th e
enhanced trust and shared responsibility
that come from these relationships
will only drive crime lower.”
To fi le a complaint with the CCRB,
residents can visit the agency’s website
at www.nyc.gov/ccrb, call 311,
visit their offi ce at 100 Church St. in
Manhattan or visit any police station
to pick up a complaint form.
Th e CCRB’s next borough-based
meeting will be in Queens on Jan. 10 at
the Long Island City Library, which is
located at 37-44 21st St.
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