- There are disturbing claims from a police veteran that the NYPD intentionally tried to under report crime rates.
He claims, in an exclusive television interview, that in one precinct in Queens, the severities of some crimes were systematically downgraded.
We know some of you out there are probably muttering "Schoolcraft again?" Nope, not at all:
- Sergeant Borrelli is the latest in a growing list of police officers to claim widespread manipulation of NYPD crime data.
And there was Officer Polanco from the 41st Precinct.
"An assault would be downgraded to a violation, harassment, a shooting would be downgraded to a reckless endangerment," Polanco said.
And the NYPD continues to harass the whistleblowers:
Like Officers Polanco and Schoolcraft who have been suspended, Sgt. Borrelli is now feeling the heat too.
He's been hit with minor disciplinary charges and transferred to the midnight shift at the Bronx Courthouse after a decade as a supervisor at the 100th precinct.
Story #2 is a followup concentrating on Sergeant Borrelli's allegations and the subsequent efforts of the NYPD brass to shut him up:
- In an exclusive interview, a 19-year veteran of the NYPD describes widespread manipulation of crime reports at the 100th Precinct in Queens. The sergeant says when he blew the whistle on the routine fudging of crimes, the department retaliated and transferred him to a midnight shift at Bronx Central.
- Borrelli says the NYPD has left him with no choice but to go public after months of ignoring his allegations of routine misclassification of crimes at the precinct.
Borrelli also taped conversations with his "Quality Assurance" superiors and has them on tape admitting to a number of misclassifications. Combined with the Polanco and Schoolcraft allegations and resulting fallout, it would appear that Professors Silverman and Eterno are right on the money when they point out that NYPD has a definite problem regarding crime stats.