New York Almanack

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NYPD

Policing in New York City: A New History Published

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Policing the Big AppleBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

As debates about reducing funding for U.S. police forces continue, the new book Policing the Big Apple: The Story of the NYPD (The University of Chicago Press, 2021) by Jules Stewart offers an enlightening historical overview of one of the world’s largest metropolitan contingents: the New York City Police Department. [Read more…] about Policing in New York City: A New History Published

The East River Ripper: A Mysterious 1891 Jack-the-Ripper-Style Murder

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The East River RipperBook purchases made through this link support New York Almanack’s mission to report new publications relevant to New York State.

The new book The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare (Kent State University Press, 2021) by George R. Dekle looks at the Jack-the-Ripper-style murder of a woman in a New York City brothel, dealing with issues of alleged police misconduct, false conviction, racism, and illegal immigration. [Read more…] about The East River Ripper: A Mysterious 1891 Jack-the-Ripper-Style Murder

Subversion of NYC’s Police Brutality Policies: A Short History

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Policemen with African American protesters during the Bedford–Stuyvesant riot of 1964In early November 1966, my sister and I ― armed with a bucket of home-made paste, a wide brush, and a thick roll of “Vote No” posters ― headed off from my student apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to plaster the surrounding area with the signs.

The Patrolman’s Benevolent Association (PBA), a very powerful police union, had placed a referendum on the New York City ballot to remove civilians from the Civilian Complaint Review Board. [Read more…] about Subversion of NYC’s Police Brutality Policies: A Short History

The 1900 New York City Anti-Black Police Riot

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1908 Officer The killing – some would say execution – of George Floyd by a senior Minneapolis police officer (and field trainer) and the militarized police response to Black Lives Matter protests have led to calls for a systematic reevaluation of policing in the United States.

The issues raised by protestors are definitely not new. In 1960, James Baldwin wrote in an Esquire magazine article that the police “represent the force of the white world, and that world’s real intentions are, simply, for that world’s criminal profit and ease, to keep the black man corralled up here, in his place.” [Read more…] about The 1900 New York City Anti-Black Police Riot

Law & Disorder: The Chaotic Birth Of The NYPD

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law and order book coverIn his new book Law & Disorder: The Chaotic Birth Of The NYPD (Thomas Dunne Books, 2017) historian Bruce Chadwick argues that rampant violence led to the founding of the first professional police force in New York City.

Chadwick paints a picture of a bloody and violent city, where race relations and an influx of immigrants boiled over into riots, street gangs roved through town with abandon, and thousands of bars, prostitutes, and gambling emporiums clogged the streets.

Chadwick says that in the 19th century the crime rate was triple what it is today and the murder rate was five or six times as high. The drive to establish law and order involved some of New York’s biggest personalities, including mayor Fernando Wood and journalist Walt Whitman. [Read more…] about Law & Disorder: The Chaotic Birth Of The NYPD