"How Many Stops Act" Will Only Slow Down Police Work, Mayor Says

By Yehudit Garmaise

The “How Many Stops Act” could be more harmful than helpful,” said Mayor Adams on Tuesday, when the City Council overwhelmingly overrode his attempt to veto a measure that seeks to increase the NYPD’s paperwork in an attempt to prevent biased police work. 

“In public safety, seconds matter,” explained the mayor. “Anyone who has wrestled with a dangerous person ... knows that in policing, seconds are the difference between life and death."

While the mayor supports the City Council’s attempt to reduce biased policing, he said that documenting each interaction with the people whom they question for Level 1 crimes, which are serious felonies such as terrorism, murder, and kidnapping, will only slow down cops’ efforts to “get the bad guys.”

"Do you think that [increased paperwork for the NYPD] just makes the job stink?” a reporter asked. "Do cops like being cops these days? Does it just make the job not worth doing?”

“The more police officers are removed from catching bad guys,” said the mayor, “the more morale issues we will face."

“DAs also tell me they're having a difficult time finding district attorneys because of the overwhelming amount of paperwork...Every level of public safety enforcement," the mayor said, is “really having a problem recruiting individuals.”

The mayor added that the City Council’s “How Many Stops Act” will only add to the erosion of the morale of police officers, who also feel “demonized” on social media and generally distrusted by many of the public.

Regarding corrections officers, the mayor shared, "Our numbers are at a scary place right now across the country. The numbers are decreasing.”