NYC Mayor-Elect Announces New Police Commissioner In A Community Court

Yesterday at a press conference held in the Red Hook Community Justice Center, our sister project in Brooklyn, New York Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio announced that William Bratton will be the new commissioner of the New York Police Department. De Blasio chose the Red Hook Community Justice Center as the setting to make the announcement to emphasize the importance of community collaboration.“The fundamental idea” behind the Red Hook Community Justice Center’s work, de Blasio explained, is that “the way to fight crime... is with the community. This has been epitomized here to great, great effect, and that idea animates... my entire view of public safety and how we have to move forward as a city.”

The mayor-elect cited results from a recent independent evaluation, noting that 78 percent of the cases heard at the Red Hook Community Justice Center received alternative sanctions, including community service or social service mandates. He also noted that the Center has reduced the number of offenders receiving jail sentences by 35 percent. The study also found that the Justice Center helped reduce recidivism among both juvenile and adult defendants.

According to Mayor-elect de Blasio, “Public safety and respect for the public are not contradictory ideas; they are complimentary ideas. They go hand in hand."