New York’s Finest’s often spotty responses to 311 calls will be tracked under a new NYPD “quality of life” crackdown , police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday.
Many quality of life complaints to 311 have doubled in recent years, but the NYPD doesn’t track how those cases are handled in the same way as the Compstat system does for major crimes, Tisch told City Council members during a budget hearing.
She said a new “Q-Stat” will not only be used to measure quality of life complaints, but also hold police accountable for responding to them.
“We’re not doing that right now with quality of life issues,” she said.
“Quality of life complaints have to be measured and there has to be accountability in our precincts and our commands for addressing that in the same way there has been for the past 30 years with Compstat, accountability for dealing with and addressing crime conditions in commands.
Tisch’s testimony gave more details about her soon-to-be-unveiled Quality of Life division within the NYPD, which she said will address “out-of-control scooters and ebikes, aggressive panhandling, unruly street vending, public urination, open-air drug use.”
The NYPD received 1.5 million complaints through 311 in the last year alone, data shows.
Tisch noted New Yorkers’ pleas for help during the past six years jumped 202% for illegal parking, 119% for noise and 557% for homeless encampments.
She said panhandling complaints during that time also jumped nearly 2,800%.
“New Yorkers are clearly demanding that something be done,” she said.
But as New Yorkers have demanded action, they’ve also complained about NYPD cops’ inaction on 311 complaints.
Researchers have found cops routinely closed parking complaints within minutes, suggesting they didn’t actually respond to them, Streetsblog reported .
One of New York’s Finest even personally retaliated against a frequent 311 caller, including by imitating a former lover and playing recordings of dolphins. The cop received a $500 fine and lost 60 days of leave worth roughly $25,000.
Tisch’s move to bring accountability to the NYPD’s 311 responses fits in a wider push by Mayor Eric Adams to address quality of life concerns.
The Adams administration recently has attempted to address quality of life issues in certain areas — such as the prostitute-riddled Roosevelt Avenue in Queens and “The Hub” drug haven in the Bronx — through its Community Link program.
And refocusing the NYPD on quality of life issues is arguably a return to the controversial “broken windows” policing, although Tisch has been careful to note the department will not adopt a “zero tolerance” approach.
One pilot program focused on quality of life in Brooklyn and Queens subways recently rounded up five career criminals with a staggering 590 busts between them.
Tisch said the majority of the Quality of Life division’s anticipated workforce will be more locally focused, under the direct control and supervision of precinct commanders.
“This model is also driven by the fundamental belief that the cops who work in the commands, day-in and day-out, they know the issues best,” Tisch said.
“So, in your precinct, if the major issue is parking-related then we would give those key teams more training on the law around parking. But, in a number of precincts, the issue may not be parking. They may train officers on key teams in those precincts about the types of jobs they would encounter.”