Nothing is simple, although it may look that way from the outside.
They didn't manage to close it down, as they'd hoped.
What they did manage to do was get national TV and other news coverage, and slow things down in Midtown. Reports on the size of the crowd and number of arrests varied. They left banners and sprayed graffiti, and tweeted about it. And they made an effort to look both intimidating and impossible to identify. Seems pretty obvious this group is up to no good, right?
This group clearly hates the police. According to their tweets, they want to "end all policing & destruction of public order . . . to bring public safety back to NYC." They also want all mass transit fees ended, so the rides are all free.
As far as I can tell, one clear problem with NYPD and MTA officers' approach is that it never seems to be respectful. Defensive, definitely--and in the current environment, caution is warranted.
But whatever their intentions, the effect when they surround a tiny, elderly churro vender with four or five much taller armed police officers and handcuff her is pretty darned intimidating.
Nothing is simple. Especially not efforts to negotiate the delicate balance of respect, accountability, and public order that characterizes interactions between the police and the working poor.
But it's quite simply true that everyone's safety and security depends on finding a way.
I found an article the other day in one of my online research resources, Police Magazine. It reported on a disturbance in New York City's Grand Central subway station.
A group called Decolonize this Place organized it as part of a daylong series of demonstrations. This is the third time this group has staged demonstrations since earlier in 2019.
A group called Decolonize this Place organized it as part of a daylong series of demonstrations. This is the third time this group has staged demonstrations since earlier in 2019.
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| A still from a video from New York Post, via Police Magazine, showing the protest in the terminal. (Police Magazine/New York Post) |
They didn't manage to close it down, as they'd hoped.
What they did manage to do was get national TV and other news coverage, and slow things down in Midtown. Reports on the size of the crowd and number of arrests varied. They left banners and sprayed graffiti, and tweeted about it. And they made an effort to look both intimidating and impossible to identify. Seems pretty obvious this group is up to no good, right?
Well, nothing is simple.
What's the goal of the disruption?
This group clearly hates the police. According to their tweets, they want to "end all policing & destruction of public order . . . to bring public safety back to NYC." They also want all mass transit fees ended, so the rides are all free.
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| Photo from 1010 WINS Radio, via Twitter. (Note the linked Twitter video contains profanity). |
Let's unpack this. First of all, "end all policing" is connected to "destruction of public order."
The goal is "to bring public safety back to NYC."
While the article in Police Magazine did list their goals as "no cops in the MTA, free transit [and] no harassment, " they focused more on the disruption and vandalism.
That's not surprising. Their aim, as stated by MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren (quoted in the article), is to protect "transit services that get New Yorkers to their jobs, schools, doctors and other places they need to go." Simple enough.
But nothing is simple.
How can the protests promote the need for public safety?
I'd just read another article about a UK study that demonstrated a 14-21% reduction in crime when the police patrolled subway stations every 15 minutes. These platforms previously had not had a police presence--exactly what the New York demonstrators are demanding.
The article even went so far as to make a direct comparison: "London’s Underground, akin to NYC’s subway system, was the first underground railway in the world, and now services more than 1.3 billion passengers per year."
The article even went so far as to make a direct comparison: "London’s Underground, akin to NYC’s subway system, was the first underground railway in the world, and now services more than 1.3 billion passengers per year."
The police show up and crime goes down. That's pretty simple, isn't it? But nothing is simple.
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| A study showed police patrols every 15 minutes in the London Underground deterred crime. Yet Decolonize this Place is demanding that police stop patrolling the New York City subways. Does this make sense? (Photo courtesy of Forensic). |
Who's protecting whom, and from what?
The London Underground recently has seen delays from demonstrations, too, but those were staged by climate activists seeking attention. One of the biggest worries there seems to be terrorist attacks (and with good reason).
But hardly any of the London Underground's users seem to think the police themselves are a danger to public safety. No so, for Decolonize this Place. They demonstrated to remove them from the subways entirely.
But hardly any of the London Underground's users seem to think the police themselves are a danger to public safety. No so, for Decolonize this Place. They demonstrated to remove them from the subways entirely.
The New York City subway system's police officers, interacting with an assortment of low-income persons of color have been captured in distressing videos that went viral. This apparently happens frequently in the subways.
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| The number of homeless persons living in the New York City subways has jumped by 20% recently (screencap of a video via ABC-7 News) |
The MTA recently (and controversially) hired 500 new officers to patrol the subways. They are there to address "quality of life" issues, such as illegal food vendors and the growing number of homeless people living in the subway system.
Meanwhile, the NYPD has been cracking down on low-level crimes, and that's no surprise, since that kind of crime is up. But that often means focusing on persons of color, whether it's because of simple economics or racial bias. But addressing those issues, no matter how tactfully, is no simple matter.
Respect is not as simple a matter as it may seem.
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| 1981 Brixton Riots in the UK: first large-scale clash between low-income black youths and white British police in the 20th Century. (Photo from The Royal Gazette) |
But whatever their intentions, the effect when they surround a tiny, elderly churro vender with four or five much taller armed police officers and handcuff her is pretty darned intimidating.
This is not a new thing, this antagonism between police forces and the working poor. And it's not isolated to New York City. Fines that unfairly burdened lower-income residents of Ferguson MO fueled some of the fury in the wake of Michael Brown's killing. And all too often cities' attempts to "deal with the homeless problem" turn into efforts to chase the homeless out of town--or at least out of sight.
Even efforts designed to be helpful don't always succeed. Many places create task forces that include social workers to coordinate with the police, but their success is mixed. "Neighborhood policing" doesn't always have the desired result.
It's not just the working poor who feel disrespected. Police officers also have every reason to feel they are not respected. Indeed, too often they are violently targeted. "Bad actors" among sworn-officer ranks get sensational headlines, and besmirch the ones who honestly struggle each day to serve their communities.
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| Officials used heavy equipment to clear out a homeless camp near Moncton, New Brunswick last May (photo by Shane Magee/CBC) |
Even efforts designed to be helpful don't always succeed. Many places create task forces that include social workers to coordinate with the police, but their success is mixed. "Neighborhood policing" doesn't always have the desired result.
It's not just the working poor who feel disrespected. Police officers also have every reason to feel they are not respected. Indeed, too often they are violently targeted. "Bad actors" among sworn-officer ranks get sensational headlines, and besmirch the ones who honestly struggle each day to serve their communities.
Nothing is simple. Especially not efforts to negotiate the delicate balance of respect, accountability, and public order that characterizes interactions between the police and the working poor.
But it's quite simply true that everyone's safety and security depends on finding a way.
IMAGE CREDITS:
Many thanks to Police Magazine (and New York Post) for the coverage of the protest, and to 1010 WINS Radio and Twitter for the tweet from Decolonize this Place. I'd also like to thank Forensic for the photo from the London Underground, and ABC-7 News for the screencap of homeless people in subways. Additionally, much gratitude to The Royal Gazette for the historic photo from the Brixton Riots, as well as The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) and their photographer/reporter Shane Magee for the photo from the Moncton NB homeless camp.
Many thanks to Police Magazine (and New York Post) for the coverage of the protest, and to 1010 WINS Radio and Twitter for the tweet from Decolonize this Place. I'd also like to thank Forensic for the photo from the London Underground, and ABC-7 News for the screencap of homeless people in subways. Additionally, much gratitude to The Royal Gazette for the historic photo from the Brixton Riots, as well as The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) and their photographer/reporter Shane Magee for the photo from the Moncton NB homeless camp.
