Bronx District Legal professional Darcel Clark is dropping the ball, town’s prime cop stated Tuesday.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated the northernmost borough is lagging approach behind on cracking down on crime, calling Clark’s turf “the best possible place” Within the Massive Apple to steal a automotive.
“And talking of no penalties,” Tisch stated, “should you’re desirous about stealing a automotive, the best possible place to do it’s within the Bronx. Why? As a result of likelihood is good that you simply’ll solely be charged with misdemeanor felony possession of stolen property and despatched in your approach.
“Auto theft is a felony – so it must be charged as a felony,” she stated on the Residents Crime Fee of New York Metropolis breakfast discussion board in Midtown on Tuesday morning. “And if you don’t cost appropriately … you find yourself main town in stolen vehicles by a large margin.”
Automobile thefts had been down 12% within the metropolis within the first quarter of the years — however the Bronx is bucking the development with a 3.6% bump in stolen autos, in line with Tisch.
The NYPD crime stats referenced by the commissioner weren’t instantly out there for overview.
The feedback got here within the wake of Tisch’s new assault on high quality of life crimes, a part of a plan to dedicate 2,000 cops citywide to crack down on probably the most frequent 311 complaints from New Yorkers.
The initiative launched at six metropolis precincts final week and is because of develop within the coming months.
“I’m channeling the voice of nearly each NYPD cop and on a regular basis New Yorker once I say: Sufficient is sufficient,” Tisch stated. “New York State legal guidelines, New York Metropolis legal guidelines, and inside prosecutorial insurance policies have handcuffed the police, uncovered them to untenable threat, and allowed criminals to prey on victims repeatedly and once more.
“However the excellent news is, a lot of that is supremely solvable. It’s only a matter of getting it accomplished.”
Clark has been a frequent goal of critics who contend the prosecutor is lax on crime.
Information from the state Division of Legal Justice Companies in 2023 confirmed that Clark’s workplace had the worst conviction and dismissal charges in practically each main crime class in New York Metropolis over the previous half-decade, The Put up reported on the time.
In an announcement Tuesday, the Bronx DA’s workplace responded to Tisch’s feedback by saying that “there’s a distinction between what the police cost at arrest and what we will show in court docket.
“Charging selections are made with the utmost integrity and we don’t cost until we’ve the proof,” the assertion stated. “On condition that the Bronx is a hub for the sale of vehicles stolen from different jurisdictions, we are going to proceed our stepped-up efforts to handle auto crimes and maintain individuals accountable for them.”
The assertion additionally stated that the DA’s workplace has a “productive partnership” with the NYPD Auto Crime unit to handle auto thefts that’s targeted on “long-term investigations and auto theft crews.
“This strategy permits us to interrupt the patterns of those crimes and prosecute vigorously.”
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