Everyone should hear about the NYPD tapes article. It’s a damn shame, and that kind of police absenteeism is what we have to work with in the New York Initiative.

I want to give a shout out to our tech and medical officer, Zimmer, for being the logic and the face in the Slamdance festival.

The future is looking bright, bud.

“On any given shift, a third of the officers have the day off. Others have time off for other purposes, are on vacation, or are ill.

Plus, officers are constantly pulled away from their patrol duties to man parades, to work security at police headquarters, to write tickets for a special effort—like getting motorists to stop talking on their cell phones—and for many other reasons.

And they are pulled away to process arrests, transfer prisoners to central booking, meet with the district attorney, and babysit injured or sick prisoners at the hospital.

As a result, a typical day in the 81st Precinct had only three to nine officers patrolling the streets in an area of more than 60,000 people.”

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-05-11/news/nypd-tapes-part-2-bed-stuy/6/