The majority of New Yorkers, including minorities, approve of police addressing disorderly illegal behavior, such as public drinking and drug use, fights, public urination and other acts considered to be minor offenses. We have attended countless meetings with citizen groups in high-crime areas, and almost without exception disorderly behavior and conditions are central concerns.
In August, following Garner’s death after an arrest for a quality-of-life offense of illegally selling loose cigarettes, a Quinnipiac University poll found that the approval rating of the NYPD had fallen by nine percentage points, to 50%, because of concerns about Garner’s death and police use of force. A full 90% of African-Americans and 71% of Hispanics agreed that there was “no excuse” for how police had acted in the Garner incident.
Even so, support for Broken Windows policing remained high: Asked about police issuing summonses or making arrests for quality-of-life offenses, African-Americans supported the policy 56% to 37%, whites 61% to 33% and Hispanics 64% to 34%.
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