This is really stupid but,

modsquad · September 2008

I forgot I did this. About 6 years ago I spent a day visiting special ed schools in eastern Brooklyn. For some reason a lot of the Dept. of Ed funded schools are out there. Every school was in a "marginal" neighborhood, so I went to the local precinct and asked very specific questions about the street where the school was, are there other schools nearby that may cause trouble, is my 12 year old Asian son going to have a problem. Every cop was incredibly helpful and honest. At one precinct I had the desk sgt. and 2 detectives with a map showing me the safest way to get from the school to the subway. Like everybody else, I have issues with being on the receiving end of law enforcement but these guys were falling all over each other with advice that day.

It seems to me, with all of the threads looking for info on a neighborhood they might do well to check with the local cops. FWIW

brooklynleather · September 2008

Thanks for the advice! I've gone up to cops in every neighborhood I have lived in and sometimes (although rarely) they gave me info. Most of the time they told me to check the crime stats online or in one case, when I called the precinct they said "I wouldn't live there if I were you."

I think a travel safety route is a great idea! I just have this feeling I am going to hear the same thing this time around, about how it is crazy as a young woman to move to this neighborhood, etc.

modsquad · September 2008

An actual visit early in the day to the precinct is "priceless".I think it means more when an actual person shows up. I got the feeling there was a lull in activity and could see detectives turning and listening to my questions. Nothing against cops in uniform but detectives are more ambitious and more likely to offer practical advice other than "I wouldn't live here".

brooklynleather · September 2008

Hope you are right

I had a negative experience with the station on Utica where they "lost" a report I had filed that was, in my experience, serious. So I already have my doubts but I will take your suggestion and give it a go.

king without a crown · September 2008

modsquad wrote: An actual visit early in the day to the precinct is "priceless".I think it means more when an actual person shows up. I got the feeling there was a lull in activity and could see detectives turning and listening to my questions. Nothing against cops in uniform but detectives are more ambitious and more likely to offer practical advice other than "I wouldn't live here".

How do you know they were detectives?

modsquad · September 2008

You tell me. It was summer. they were wearing suits with their jackets off. They all had guns on their waists on their side or back.

Now you tell me. What's your real question?

paraderest · September 2008

modsquad wrote: You tell me. It was summer. they were wearing suits with their jackets off. They all had guns on their waists on their side or back.

Now you tell me. What's your real question?

There are lots of people in that building who would have occasion to wear a suit but are not detectives.

BTW...the standard answer that the police dept wants given is "you can check the crime stats online" or "call back tomorrow and ask for the community affairs officer." A few cops got in trouble last year when they made small talk with a robbery victim about her comings and goings(which does have an investigative purpose). The girl goes home and when confronted by her father about why she didn't go back to the precinct to look at pictures(she was too lazy), she twists the story to make it sound like the cops told her that she shouldn't have been in that neighborhood anyway. Cops got a ton of shit for it and it wasn't true.

modsquad · September 2008

That's too bad. Like I said it was a few years ago (actually before 9/11). It seems to me that years ago NYC cops could use much more of their own discretion in situations. I suppose it's 9/11 and a zero tolerance policy that has led to this "bunker mentality".

daver · September 2008

ParadeRest wrote: A few cops got in trouble last year when they made small talk with a robbery victim about her comings and goings(which does have an investigative purpose). The girl goes home and when confronted by her father about why she didn't go back to the precinct to look at pictures(she was too lazy), she twists the story to make it sound like the cops told her that she shouldn't have been in that neighborhood anyway. Cops got a ton of shit for it and it wasn't true.

I'll buy that for a dollar. Or not. I know that I've been _directly_ told by cops in my neighborhood that I shouldn't be there because I was "the wrong color." More than once. Not that I would file a complaint, I couldn't care less regarding that opinion from them. But I wouldn't dismiss her complaint out of hand either. Nor would I dismiss the cops' assertions either. Both are plausible, unfortunately.

This is really stupid but,

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