Bratton defends policing philosophy

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - As his days running police department come to a close, Commissioner Bill Bratton is coming out swinging against a Department of Investigation report that claims the NYPD enforced quality-of-life crimes more heavily in communities of color and public housing than in predominantly white precincts. Bratton called the report critically flawed" and "without merit."

But the DOI is standing by its conclusions. The DOI's NYPD inspector general concluded virtually no correlation exists between issuing minor offense summonses and preventing violent crime.

This finding strikes at the very foundation of the "broken windows" theory of crime reduction. Basically, it is stop the minor offenses to prevent major crime. It is s the foundation of Bratton's 45-year career in law enforcement.

The DOI said: "The report produced objective statistical evidence that certain specific NYPD strategies do not have a measurable link to a reduction in violent crime." 

First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker said the minor offenses are a top priority for every community.

Another key finding of the report supports claims made by some community groups and activists that the quality-of-life crimes are more heavily enforced in communities of color and public housing. Chief of Department James O'Neill said police are responding directly to the concerns of residents.

The NYPD issued its own counter report and said it will continue to use strategies that reduce crime to historic record lows.