Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch leveled criticism Tuesday at what she dubbed a “revolving door” in the city’s criminal justice system. But Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, for one, angrily retorted that “now is not the time” to return to broken windows policing.
D.A. Clark came out swinging Tuesday, blasting her critics, including NYPD top cop Tisch, and insisting that the path to public safety lies in identifying the root cause of crime — not in stepping up broken windows policing.
“Regardless of what the police commissioner, defense attorneys, legislators or professors say or believe — I am the chief law enforcement officer in the Bronx,” Clark testified at a City Council budget hearing. “Public safety is my responsibility to deliver to the people of the Bronx. They elected me three times to perform this duty.
“I am unapologetic about who I am and the work I do.”
Tisch, who testified earlier in the day and was not present when Clark spoke, has repeatedly said police officers do their job, only to be let down by the rest of the criminal justice system, including prosecutors whom she believes have not pursued certain cases, such as repeat shoplifters, as vigorously as she would like.
In her testimony, in fact, Tisch called the city’s five district attorneys “our most important partners” but said that “any blanket policy that makes the revolving door spin faster must be reevaluated, and we have seen the effect of these policies for a while now.”
She has not criticized Clark by name. Clark in her testimony referenced the commissioner, though without naming her.
Shawn Inglima/New York Daily News
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. (Shawn Inglima / New York Daily News)
Tisch is also a strong proponent of broken windows policing — enforcing violations and minor misdemeanors with the belief that not doing so creates a sense of disorder that can lead to more serious crimes.
Such enforcement was reemphasized at the start of the Adams administration, and Tisch, who was sworn in almost four months ago, has increased those efforts, announcing on Jan. 30 that police would more consistently enforce transit rules violations.
That’s not the answer, Clark testified.
“Now is not the time to retreat to broken windows policing,” Clark said. “Now is the time to look ahead to 21st-century solutions aimed at keeping the Bronx safe. We start by identifying the root causes of crime and addressing the underlying conditions that lead to a cycle of violence and recidivism.
“It takes prevention, intervention, prosecution and reentry [into society after incarceration].”
Barry Williams for New York Daily News
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)
Tisch earlier had described what she called quality-of-life enforcement as responsive to community complaints, though noting that it’s done with an emphasis on correcting conditions, plus giving officers discretion on whether to make an arrest or issue a summons.
Both Clark and Tisch, however, are in lockstep in their push to have the 2020 discovery laws tweaked, both saying that too many cases have been dismissed on technicalities, rather than prosecutors intentionally withholding evidence from defense lawyers.
More than 80 law professors last month implored legislators to reject Gov. Hochul’s proposed discovery laws rollback.
In response to Clark’s criticism of broken windows quality-of-life policing, a police spokesperson shared statistics showing that 311 complaints for the Bronx were up 140 percent for 2024 compared to 2018, the steepest increase by far of any of the five boroughs.
