Requires the New York police department and the parks and recreation department to submit to the city council reports of crime in all parks, including playgrounds, recreation centers ,beaches and pools

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 of the bill repeals paragraph 4 of subdivision a of section 14-.150 of the administrative code of the city of New York and a new paragraph 4 is added that sets forth reporting requirements for crime status in parks.

The new section requires the police department and the department of parks and recreation to provide crime status reports to include the total number of crime complaints (categorized by class of crime, indicating whether the crime is a misdemeanor or felony) for each patrol precinct, including housing bureau and transit bureau complaints within each precinct; arrests (categorized by class of crime, indicating whether the arrest is for a misdemeanor or felony) for each patrol precinct, housing police service area, transit district, street crime unit and narcotics division; summons activity (categorized by type of summons, indicating whether the summons is a parking violation, moving violation, environmental control board notice of violation, or criminal court summons) for each patrol precinct, housing police service area and transit district; such reports reports shall include the total number of major felony crime complaints for all parks under the jurisdiction of the department of parks and recreation.

In addition, the department shall submit to the council, the total number of major felony crime complaints quarterly one year after enactment of this law for parks under the jurisdiction of the department of parks and recreation.

The Police and the Parks Department also shall submit biannual reports on all summons activity (categorized by type of summons, indicating whether the summons is a parking violation, moving violation, environmental control board notice of violation, or criminal court summons, broken down by type of summons, i.e. illegal Dumping, Lewd Acts, Failure to Comply With A Sign, Illegal vending.)

The Police and/or Parks Department shall conspicuously post all reports online via the department's website within five business days of the department's submission of such reports to the City Council and no later than one month after the end of the quarter.

Section 2 sets forth an effective date thirty days after it shall have become law.

Justification

Currently the New York Police Department tracks crime in only 30 of the city's 1700 public parks and playgrounds. This is despite the fact that each of the 1700 public parks are located within a New York City police precinct. In addition, weekly data is currently available on only one New York City park w Central Park in Manhattan.

Given that each park is located within a police precinct there is no reason that tracking and reporting of crime in all parks, playgrounds and recreation centers could be made readily available.

Furthermore, the department of parks and recreation currently tracks arrests although it does not publicly release such data and they currently track weekly, monthly and weekly and yearly statically summons activity reports broken down by park.

This bill will revise the breadth and manner in which crime status reports are to be issued to the city council. Such information is necessary to adequately inform the public and to assist relevant agencies, including the police department and department of parks and recreation, in reducing criminal activity in city parks.

Prior legislative history

None.

Fiscal implications

None to the state.

Effective date

This act shall take effect thirty days after it shall have become law.