Three Years of Rebuilding: |
New York has been on the front lines of the security debate, both because its security concerns are arguably the nation's greatest , and because many of those most affected by restrictions in civil liberties are immigrants living in cities. This was illustrated last years when large numbers of New York's immigrants - mainly Pakistanis - for fear of a program which required males from 24 Muslim countries and North Korea to register with the federal government.
The federal Department of Homeland Security, created in 2002 as a way to defend against terrorism, has been giving out grant money to states and cities for their own anti-terror efforts. New York officials are now unanimous in saying that the department's grant program has turned into a way for politicians to push pork towards their own districts, leaving New York City without the resources it needs to protect itself.
Currently, much of the funding is given out without regard to the threat level that a certain area is under. A portion of the money is given out evenly to every state; another portion by population. A set amount of money is reserved for high risk areas, but as more areas are deemed high risk, the proportion of this money that New York receives has dropped dramatically. New York has spent large sums on transforming its own police department into a counter-terrorism force, but the state gets less funding per-capita than almost any other.
Local emergency responders, the federal system for allocating anti-terror money, and the national system of intelligence were all criticized by an independent federal panel whose job was to investigate the 9/11 attacks on Washington and New York. The 9/11 Commission, as it was commonly called, operated from 2003 through August 2004, when it released a book-length report on its findings (in pdf format).
The commission found fault with the city's emergency response system largely because it felt that the various rescue agencies are incapable of working together in major emergencies . But it saved its harshest criticism for the federal intelligence agencies. The commission's major recommendation was to create a cabinet level intelligence czar, who would have wide control over the operations and budgets of the various intelligence agencies .
For more, see the Security section in Rebuilding Next Page: Health and Environment
City officials have announced an interdepartmental effort designed to make public housing safer that would automatically make some accused drug dealers guilty of illegal trespassing if they set foot on any public housing property, even if it's just to visit a friend or relative.
The new effort, called "Operation Safe Housing," also includes measures to keep a closer eye on sex offenders and parolees living in public housing, as well as a speedier process for eviction hearings when the tenant is involved in certain crimes committed on public housing property such as gun felonies, some sex crimes, and the highest-level drug felonies.
"By focusing police resources where they count, we're making it safer for the law-abiding residents of these housing developments," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly in a statement. "We're putting out the 'not welcome' mat for criminals."
Anyone arrested on felony charges for dealing drugs on public housing property will now be told that they are banned from all public housing grounds. Police will keep a database of the names and faces of banned drug dealers, and officials say the ban will be aggressively enforced. The trespass policy is scheduled to begin in Queens in the fall before spreading to other boroughs.
Similar trespass policies -- some even broader in the types of people kept off of public housing property than the New York policy -- have been enforced in other parts of the country, and such policies have survived challenges in court. Officials from the New York Civil Liberties Union have said that they are concerned that the policy may violate the rights of the accused.
City officials have defended the fairness of the plan. "If somebody has their case dismissed, they'll be off the list," Criminal Justice Coordinator John Feinblatt told the New York Post. "If somebody does their jail time and lives a law-abiding life for a certain period of time, they'll have a special hearing to see if they should be taken off the list."
Crime in public housing complexes actually decreased by three percent in 2003, but, though only about five percent of New Yorkers live in public housing (420,000 people), city officials stated that 11 percent of murders, 11 percent of rapes, and 16 percent of shootings were committed on property belonging to the New York City Housing Authority. Sixty-five percent of the shootings were classified by police as drug-related, compared to 35 percent of shootings elsewhere in the city.
Registered sex offenders with a public housing address will be visited by police every six months to verify their address. A new pilot program will also be established to look after parolees living in some public housing complexes in Brooklyn and the Bronx. Parole officers with the New York State Division of Parole will be given two on-site offices, one in each borough, with the responsibility of looking after parolees living in certain public housing units.
Earlier, the City Council issued a report (In PDF Format) outlining safety concerns in public housing. That report focused mainly on the lack of security of the buildings themselves. Some buildings simply had doors with broken locks, but often residents themselves propped doors open or let strangers into the buildings. The report called for spending to install more secure doors and locks, but noted that the New York City Housing Authority faces a budget deficit of over $300 million due in part to cutbacks in federal funding.
Â
President Bush created the federal Department of Homeland Security after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The department provides some funding for state and local governments to help cover the costs of increased security. In the past two years, the federal government provided $13 billion in grants to help state and local responders and emergency managers prepare for terrorist attacks. New York City has received about $180 million to fund antiterrorism programs. President Bush promised to increase national funding by $3.6 billion next year, but it is unclear exactly how much will come to New York. New York currently receives fewer Homeland Security dollars per person than 48 other states and American Samoa. (Learn more)
To address threats of bioterrorism, Bush proposed the creation of Project BioShield, an initiative designed to acquire more vaccines. The Department of Homeland Security’s science and technology division also established a program in major cities to detect the spread of terrorist agents like anthrax in time to distribute life-saving medicines to citizens affected. (Learn more)
Bush signed the PATRIOT Act, which gives government and law enforcement officials broader use of surveillance in an effort to fight terrorism. He says the act is needed to fight the war on terrorism, but critics say it violates civil liberties and unfairly discriminates against immigrants. (Learn more)
Kerry said he would reimburse cities for Homeland Security expenses and create a fund to hire 100,000 firefighters. He also wants to enlist the National Guard and Americorps volunteers in Homeland Security efforts. He also promises to:
• create a community defense service
• ensure that first defenders are equipped and ready
• bring information technology to the war on terror
• reform domestic intelligence
• implement public health initiatives
• improve security at our bridges, tunnels and private infrastructure. (Learn more)
To address threats of bioterrorism, Kerry would appoint one individual who is responsible for communicating with state and local officials on biosecurity issues. Kerry also plans to increase vaccine and drug development in response to bioterrorism. (Learn more)
Although Kerry voted for the PATRIOT Act, which gave the federal government broad new law enforcement powers, he now wants to amend it. He has compared the curtailing of civil liberties under the act to the repression of the Taliban government. (Learn more)
• • • • • • •
Back to Urban Issues Main Page
• • • • • • •
GOTHAM GAZETTE’S RELATED ARTICLES
• Urban Agenda: Anti-Terrorism Funding
• Security and New York City
• Debating the Patriot Act
• Patriot Act and Banking
• Special Registration< Í>