As the New York Police Department has reduced its controversial practice of “stop and frisk” by nearly 90 percent since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office, a startling spike in shootings has been raising eyebrows, and the NYPD has found itself on the defensive, says the Christian Science Monitor. The number of shootings since de Blasio took office has jumped nearly 11 percent, and the number of guns seized off city streets has declined 10 percent.
In March, nearly 70 percent of voters approved of the job the NYPD was doing, with 24 percent disapproving. A Quinnipiac survey released Friday said 6 of 10 city voters now approve of NYPD policing, with a third disapproving. “We can’t ignore the likely impact of the highly publicized murder of a child in a housing project elevator, but New Yorkers, black, white and Hispanic, say 2-1 that the police should resume patrols and ID checks in project hallways,” said Quinnipiac's Maurice Carroll.