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NYPD Now Preventing Journalists From Accessing Police Blotters

Journalism

from the forms-own-Ministry-of-Information;-immediately-burns-it-to-the-ground dept

Mon, Dec 9th 2013 5:36am — Tim Cushing

AP investigative journalists Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman memorably proclaimed the NYPD to be "less transparent than CIA, FBI and NSA" when it came to responding to FOI requests. Apparently, the NYPD finds this assessment of its obfuscation skills to be underwhelming, as other notable entities like "the Kremlin in its Cold War prime" and "the North Korean Ministry of People's Security 1948-present" were not included in the journalists' depiction of the department.

DNAinfo reports that the NYPD is now shutting down local journalist's access to police blotters.

The NYPD has ordered the city's 77 police precincts to stop giving out any information to the media about crimes taking place in their neighborhoods, cutting off a long-standing source of information for New Yorkers.

According to a terse NYPD edict transmitted citywide, precinct commanders were instructed: “Any requests by media to view complaint reports be referred to the office of the Deputy Commissioner For Public Information.”
This was first reported by Amanda Woods at The Nabe, who discovered this while attempting to do the site's weekly rundown of the 88th Precinct's police blotter.
Every Wednesday morning, a reporter from The Nabe visits the 88th Precinct and is handed forms outlining the previous week’s felony crime reports, which includes information on all murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary or theft or property in the precinct. The reporter copies down the information, asks the officers lingering questions from the reports and writes up the crime blotter post. This will no longer be allowed. Reporters must now contact the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI) for all crime inquiries, according to the officer.
Funneling everything through the DCPI creates an info bottleneck, as is surely the intention of this new policy. A source inside the police department said the DCPI is a "small unit" and would most likely be unable to cope with the influx of information requests.

Not only that, but the DCPI has already been pushed by Chief Ray Kelly to clamp down on the amount of information it releases to the public.
Under his stewardship, DCPI has systematically diminished the type of information it provides as well as overall access to department personnel. The clampdown evolved even though Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a media mogul, pledged that his administration would be a beacon of open government and transparency.
This leaves journalists with two options: queueing up for whatever scraps the DPCI might throw in its direction or filing FOIL requests. The latter is even less likely to result in any response, much less a timely one. The NYPD's antagonistic attitude toward public information requests is well-documented. As Salon noted earlier this year, the NYPD stalls or denies a majority of requests, only begrudgingly parting with information when civil liberties groups (like the New York Civil Liberties Union) get involved.

So, unless journalists have an infinite amount of time and the willingness to go to court to battle for information they're rightfully entitled to have, the NYPD will simply be able to play a waiting game, hoping those looking for info simply give up once the info requested loses its timeliness.

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Filed Under: journalism, nyc, nypd, police, police blotters

37 Comments

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Reader Comments

The First Word

“
There is an easy solution.
The headlines...

Crime so bad, NYPD unable to give accounting of it.

NYPD so overwhelmed by crime they can no longer provide data.

NYPD shifts crime stats to understaffed department, Coverup of growing problem?

Potential visitors to city denied crime statistics, go elsewhere.

Perhaps maybe if they start using the scare headlines against them, instead of in support of the claims, they might get results.
—That Anonymous Coward
 ”

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View by: Time | Thread


  • icon
    That One Guy (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 4:34am

    Another case of 'Too much connecting the dots'?

    I have to wonder if the main reason for such a policy shift is the NYPD finding that handing out that information is exposing a lot more about their activities than they realized, or are comfortable with.

    For example, the number of shots fired by officers compared to number of targets/bystanders/animals/unknown hit, is probably not something they are eager to have publicly known, given how bad it has been shown to be.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 7:14am

      Re: Another case of 'Too much connecting the dots'?

      I wonder if they're building a pay wall.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 8:10am

      Re: Another case of 'Too much connecting the dots'?

      Also the embarrassment that could result if video footage is later shown to contradict police statements.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    RyanNerd (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 5:51am

    I didn't know that NYPD had hired...

    Baghdad Bob as their Minister of Information.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    RyanNerd (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 6:10am

    My advice to journalists is...

    That they should report from the Flathead police blotter from here on out. It is much more entertaining than anything happening in NY.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 6:21am

      Re: My advice to journalists is...

      Or go for the classics:

      We have unconfirmed reports that (insert crime) is up by (made up %age). We plan to report on this by tomorrow's press deadline of (insert time). We would be grateful if you could either confirm or give us accurate figures by then.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 6:38am

        Re: Re: My advice to journalists is...

        And if they (legally, apparently) demand you give the source?

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 7:16am

          Re: Re: Re: My advice to journalists is...

          Doesn't apply here; it's not classified information no matter how much the NYPD wants it to be, because the NYPD does not have the authority to officially classify information. And they couldn't get a court order in time to stop them from going to press even if such an order were remotely legal. Which it would not be, for too many reasons to mention.

          Anyway... it MIGHT be that the office will be able to handle the requests in a timely manner. Although I won't hold my breath, since they apparently made this move because some precincts were giving this information and some were not, and reporters were pressuring the ones who did not to do so. The message is clear: ask questions we don't want to answer, and we'll cut you off from ALL information.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 6:23am

    I think that they are being transparent ... just not in the way you expected.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 7:01am

    There is an easy solution.
    The headlines...

    Crime so bad, NYPD unable to give accounting of it.

    NYPD so overwhelmed by crime they can no longer provide data.

    NYPD shifts crime stats to understaffed department, Coverup of growing problem?

    Potential visitors to city denied crime statistics, go elsewhere.

    Perhaps maybe if they start using the scare headlines against them, instead of in support of the claims, they might get results.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 7:19am

      Re:

      And repeat a variation of this every week until the policy changes. People have a short attention span.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 7:27am

      Re:

      While perhaps tempting, I think something like that would just play right into their hands, given they've been trying so hard to justify their actions with nothing but scaremongering(because when you have no real evidence, emotional 'arguments' are always a good fallback) about how if they have to follow the law, the terro- I mean the criminals will win.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        silverscarcat (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 7:40am

        Re: Re:

        Then why not go the other way around?

        "New York refuses to give out data, New York is crime free, need for police is at an all time low."

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:39am

      Re:

      Or go the Boston PD route: Run the story, "NYPD refuses to release information. Here is the number to their Public Relations line. Give them a call and tell them what you think about it."

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:41am

        Re: Re:

        And while you are at it, record the call, send us the recording and we will publish what happens.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 8:03am

    Ok then do this...

    Report EVERYTHING that comes over the police scanner. If something sounds particularly interesting send a reporter to investigate and ask the witnesses yourself. If the police don't want to share the information with the public take away their ability to have any control over how it is presented... period.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Deranged Poster (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:10am

      Re: Ok then do this...

      New NYPD Policy, all police scanners must now be encrypted. Breaking the Encryption is a Class 1A Felony.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:32am

        Re: Re: Ok then do this...

        Can you imagine the cost of replacing the entire police force's communications equipment to implement such a policy change, in addition to the cost of defending the legal challenges that are to be added to the ones that currently exist, should they be so foolish as to try to implement such a policy?

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:51am

        Re: Re: Ok then do this...

        You joke, but where I live, the police have recently started encrypting their radio traffic.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Unencrypted Means, 9 Dec 2013 @ 6:20pm

        Re: Re: Ok then do this...

        In one sense, all electromagnetic communication streams are encrypted - that is the means by which you send a signal between transmitter and receiver that carries information. Both ends must be capable of converting the information to be sent to some variation within the signal sent.

        However, since all electromagnetic communications use the same fundamental means, then anyone finding a means of converting the received signal to an understandable communication stream is committing the crime. If it is not a crime in any one situation using the techniques required it can be argued that it is not a crime in any situation.

        What is oft forgotten is that communication requires a means and that means the means is open to being tapped by both desired and undesired recipients.

        If the desired means to send communications is bought by one, then anyone who can buy that communications family will be able to listen in on the communications and it will be difficult to stop that from occurring.

        So trying to stop this is just being mean.

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          John Fenderson (profile), 10 Dec 2013 @ 9:56am

          Re: Re: Re: Ok then do this...

          If the desired means to send communications is bought by one, then anyone who can buy that communications family will be able to listen in on the communications and it will be difficult to stop that from occurring.


          Not true. Encrypted communication systems such as radios still have to share a key to talk to each other. Just buying the same encrypted radio set won't let you listen in if you don't have that key.

          [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    The Real Michael, 9 Dec 2013 @ 8:10am

    Interesting how this coincides with the NYPD sending out letters telling owners of rifles and shotguns with ammo capacity of over 5 rounds to hand in their guns. The state doesn't have the authority to override the Constitution. Therefore, nobody should comply.

    The actions of the NYC politicians and police are extremely suspicious.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 8:17am

    i would have thought that informing the public of perhaps an increase in burglaries might have meant6 the public were more vigilant with their own properties, ensuring they were locked securely and also kept a watchful eye on neighbours and their properties. with this attitude from NYPD and especially from the chief, who is obviously so far in Bloomberg pocket, he is almost being strangled, the crime rate could increase, giving more work for an over-stretched force. but then, being as secretive as possible is obviously more important than doing a job

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:00am

    The NYPD has ordered the city's 77 police precincts to stop giving out any information to the media about crimes taking place in their neighborhoods, cutting off a long-standing source of information for New Yorkers.

    According to Mike Rogers crime has been eradicated. Since if we don't see it happening then it hasn't happened. Epic job NYPD! Can we dismantle them now?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Michael Greer, 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:52am

    No police blotter??

    Perhaps a budget cutback is in order here. Americans in every city pay a lot of taxes to support these police departments, and sometimes they need to be reminded of just exactly they work for.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    anonymouse, 9 Dec 2013 @ 9:58am

    lol

    Headline:Bloomberg...what the hell are you doing and who do you think you are....Request for Bloomberg to be investigated regarding police force being used as his own private army.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Spaceman Spiff (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 10:05am

    Why people don't trust the Police...

    I think the saying "To Serve and Protect", should be changed to "To Self-Serve, and Protect our Asses"!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      John Fenderson (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 10:42am

      Re: Why people don't trust the Police...

      "To serve and protect" is still accurate. It doesn't say who they're serving and protecting, after all.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 10:20am

    Of course he did.

    "The clampdown evolved even though Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a media mogul, pledged that his administration would be a beacon of open government and transparency."

    Of course he did. You wouldn't expect, for example, a child molester seeking a job as a baby sitter to admit to being a child molester, would you?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Dirkmaster (profile), 9 Dec 2013 @ 11:53am

    Guess They Want to Be Known As

    The Secret Police.

    Kinda fits, don'tcha think?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 1:40pm

    There's a problem

    when the leader of North Korea thinks your city seems like an awesome vacation spot. Okay in all fairness my bed of nails at the Hussein Inn was pretty nice.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    stoneater, 9 Dec 2013 @ 3:55pm

    Great news

    This is great news. Since bloggers are not journalists, according to Mayor Bloomburg, then we could get the blotter, and scoop those old-fashioned rags!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2013 @ 4:19pm

    NYC Crime Map

    New interactive NYC crime map...

    http://maps.nyc.gov/crime/

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    John Washburn, 3 Apr 2015 @ 10:09am

    NY PD using tactic #1

    To quote from a decade old satire
    A Guide To Hiding Records:
    How to Avoid Complying with Wisconsin's Open Records Law
    http://www.gojefferson.com/banner/opinion/foust/hiding/

    Tactic number 1 for hiding public records is: Deny the record exists.

    The very fact that someone wants to see a record should give you a nice big hint that it might contain something juicy that you don't want to reveal. This gives you a good opportunity to destroy the record. Take it home, hide it in a filing cabinet, or better yet, file it somewhere where only your successor will rediscover it. The shredder is your friend. If you can't find it, they can't get it.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


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