Crime Stoppers: NYC to stem gun violence by promoting snitching for cash
Eric Adams blueprint to stem gun violence involves using Crime Stoppers, which collects anonymous in exchange for a cash reward.
On Monday, New York Mayor Eric Adams released a “The Blue Print to End Gun Violence.” Spurred by a series of recent shootings, Adams has pledged to amp up street and subway patrols, work with federal and state officials, and encourage DAs to prioritize gun charges.
Adams is also mobilizing everyday New Yorkers in the fight—by incentivizing snitching for cash by way of the city’s partnership with the New York chapter of Crime Stoppers.
The group, which has 20,000 chapters across the United States, takes anonymous crime tips and turns them over to police. If the tip leads to an arrest, the caller gets a cash prize of several thousand dollars.
“Currently, the New York City Police Foundation and NYPD’s Crime Stoppers program offers cash rewards up to $3,500 for anonymous information that leads to an arrest,” the document notes. “In partnership with local business leaders, the Adams Administration will increase that reward for gun-related information that leads to an arrest – incentivizing even more New Yorkers to play a role in keeping our communities safe.”
Naturally, there will be an ad campaign. “The City will also run a massive campaign across digital and traditional media to alert New Yorkers of this offer.”
The group exists to invite information from people who may fear reprisals from criminals. But, obviously, the opposite side of that coin is that you can phone in a fake tip to get back at an ex-boyfriend or a barista that was rude to you and face no repercussions, while possibly winning a cash prize!
The tip on its own can’t be the sole basis for a search warrant. But given that historically, the “sole basis” for an NYPD search is “young person with Black or brown skin” (the 2013 ruling against racist stop-and-frisk tactics reduced illegal searches, but did not end them) it’s easy to imagine officers trampling the rights of civilians based on tips.
Actually you don’t have to use your imagination here. In 2014, at least three men were wrongfully arrested on gun charges following Crime Stoppers tips. In each case, the gun was likely planted by police. Two of the men spent a year in jail before the charges were dropped. The informants never came forward. The whole thing was so shady that many advocates suspect it was actually police who phoned in the tips to meet their quotas.
While quotes “do not officially exist” there is clearly immense pressure on the NYPD to deliver gun arrests. According to the database Capstat, there were close to 200 lawsuits between 2015 and 2018 related to false weapons charges.
Scott Hechinger, a former public defender who now works for the criminal reform advocacy group Zealous, recalls representing a client framed by police. “A team of NYPD planted a gun on him. The way they claimed they first received information about a gun was through the Operation Gun Stop program,” he says. “They were able to hide behind the anonymity of the system.”
"Programs like this are ripe for abuse,” Hechinger says. “Including by the NYPD themselves."
Nice to once again see a story from a perspective other than what the public may want to see...i.e in New York seeing this as a great program to help end the gun violence.
I agree that especially when "there is immense pressure on the NYPD to deliver gun arrests" with Hechinger that: "Programs like this are ripe for abuse, Including by the NYPD themselves."