Los Latinos in New York City They are the group that receives the most fines for minor infractions by the NYPD, in disproportionate numbers, around the Big Apple. In 2022 they received 53% of the total civil penalties for violations of minor crimes such as having open alcohol containers, urinating in public and making noise.
This was reported in a report prepared by the organization Data Collaborative For Justicewhich works with local criminal justice leaders to conduct research and analyze data, identifying opportunities to promote operational change and reform, in which it warns that the Hispanics of the city continue to be the first target of the escalation of fines, despite representing only 29% of the total population. The blacks received 24% of civil citations.
In his report, Data Collaborative For Justice He highlighted that the Criminal Justice Reform Law, approved in 2016, achieved that the majority of minor offenses such as having open alcohol containers in public, committing violations of park regulations, urinating in outdoor spaces, making excessive noise and throwing garbage or spitting in the street, are no longer sent to the criminal justice system, but to the civil one. However, overall ticketing quadrupled in 2022, and Hispanic New Yorkers are disproportionately hit hardest.
The figures analyzed by said entity of the John Jay Collegeon civil fines, which generate penalties that can be paid online without having to go to criminal court, point out that in 2022 the NYPD issued 27,673 summonses, increasing the figures by 7,252, compared to 2021. When comparing the data With 2019, before the pandemic, there is an increase of 22%, since in that year there were 22,662 fines.
Other data compiled by the report reveals that the vast majority of fines issued by the police in 2022 were for carrying open alcohol containers in public, which represented 83%. Likewise, urinating outdoors occupies the second category of fines, with 11%, while violations in parks, such as staying after closing, represented 4%.
Despite the increase in fines, the data collected by those who carried out the study showed a decrease in racial disparities compared to 2019, and stated that between that year and 2021, the disparity ratio between Hispanics and whites fell from 4.0 to 1.8 , but then rose again to 3.6 in 2022. Similarly, civil fines in low-income neighborhoods were reported to represent 34% of all citations handed out in 2022, in zip codes within the bottom quintile of median household income in the city.
In high-income neighborhoods, the NYPD issued fewer tickets than in low-income neighborhoods, but among people who received summonses, racial disparities were greater. Hispanics were 7.5 times more likely to be fined than whites.
Stephen Koppelsenior research associate at Data Collaborative for Justicehighlighted that in practice, penalties for low-level common crimes continue to place Hispanics and blacks at the top, but racial disparities, although they continue, have shown a decrease.
“The main finding was that while black and Hispanic New Yorkers remain more likely to receive a civil fine, racial disparities have narrowed in recent years: the black-to-white ratio has dropped by half, from 3.8 to 1.8, and the proportion of Hispanics and whites has been reduced by half, from 3.8 to 1.8,” said the researcher.
However, Anna Stenkamp, senior associate researcher at Data Collaborative for Justice, expressed her concern about the increase in fines and highlighted that the disparity is still rampant in the Big Apple, which is why she urged municipal authorities to make efforts to reduce them and make New York a bigger city. fair and equitable.
“Although civil fines have fewer collateral consequences within the criminal legal system, the increase in the number of civil fines issued over the past three years is concerning, as Black and Hispanic people continually represent More than 65% of civil citations issued citywide each year“said Stenkamp. “Racial disparities are smaller than those seen in the issuance of criminal citations, but lThe continued disproportionate citations received by Black and Hispanic people highlight that racial disparities persist in every form of low-level law enforcement.”
Asked about the findings of the report, through a spokeswoman, the Adams Administration They did not refer to the data presented on the increase in fines in the Latino community, but they pointed out that “crime has decreased and jobs have increased,” and defended that minor infractions should also be prosecuted.
“Mayor Adams has been clear that addressing quality of life concerns is an important tool in preventing violent crime from occurring and ensuring that New Yorkers truly feel safe in their communities,” the City spokeswoman said. “While there is always more work to do, our officers are more focused and committed to their communities than ever. The NYPD deploys our officers where crimes are reported, in response to community complaints, and will continue to address these conditions as the public demands and expects us to do.”
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Data
- 53% of the total civil penalties for minor infractions were given to Latinos
- 29% of the total population of NYC are Hispanic
- 27,673 summonses were issued in 2022
- 7,252 more than the previous year
- 83% of fines were issued for carrying open alcohol containers in public
- 11% for urinating outdoors
- 4% represented violations in parks
2024-04-01 22:44:26
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