MAYOR BLOOMBERG DISCUSSES PUBLIC SAFETY IN WEEKLY RADIO ADDRESS

The following is the text of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's weekly radio address as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, May 5, 2013. 

“Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

“Ensuring public safety is government’s most basic responsibility, and it’s one our Administration has focused on from the very start. Last year we set a new record low for murders – and a record low for shootings. And so far this year, murders are down another 34 percent, and shootings are also down another 22 percent. 

“Those public safety gains are not just statistics – they’re every day New Yorkers whose lives have been saved. Think about it this way: By cutting the number of murders and shootings to new record lows, we’ve helped save 96 lives compared to the year before. And since 2002, we’ve saved 7,364 lives compared to the decade before. Since 2001, we’ve cut New York City’s murder rate by 56 percent. We are the safest big city in America – but we are determined to make all five boroughs even safer.

“On Tuesday, I joined Commissioner Ray Kelly and NYPD leaders to thank them for their great work in keeping their fellow New Yorkers safe. 

“Under Commissioner Kelly’s leadership, the NYPD has redefined modern policing – they’ve not simply responded to crimes, they’ve prevented crimes from happening in the first place. Yet despite the NYPD’s incredible record of reducing crime, saving lives, and making neighborhoods far safer – the NYPD is under attack because this is an election year. Right now, the City Council is considering two dangerous bills that would undermine public safety. 

The first would create a new bureaucracy – headed by an Inspector General – to oversee the policies and strategies adopted by the Police Commissioner. That would undermine the accountability that has been so essential to the Police Department’s success in driving down crime. It could also undermine our counter-terrorism efforts by making the law enforcement agencies that we work with on intelligence-gathering less willing to share information with us. 

“The second bill would preclude the NYPD from using key information – including gender, age, and race – to identify suspects. So think about this: If an officer is told by a witness that a twenty-something white man wearing a blue windbreaker was seen shooting a gun, the officer can only use the color of the windbreaker as a lead. And the officer would have to stop 80-year old black women if they are wearing blue windbreakers. Even more absurd: if they stop someone who perfectly fits the description provided – a twenty-something white man wearing a blue windbreaker – and that person turns out not to be the shooter, that person can sue the NYPD. If this bill passes, all officers will be under threat of going to trial for doing their jobs – and that would make all of us less safe.

“We cannot afford to play election year politics with the safety of our city, and we cannot afford to roll back the incredible progress of the past 20 years. If the bills are passed, I will veto them – and I will continue doing everything I can to keep driving down crime to record lows.

“This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Thanks for listening.”