Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned against the appointment of an inspector general, saying the city would be less safe than it is now, according to the New York Post.
“I think if you want to bring crime back, let’s go politicize control of the Police Department,” Bloomberg told the paper.
“The last thing we need is some politician or judge getting involved with setting policy, because you won’t be safe anymore,” the mayor told the Post. “But today, you are.”
In June, about two dozen City Council members proposed a bill that would institute an NYPD inspector general who would independently oversee the police force. The inspector general would be a non-police officer appointed by the mayor and would have subpoena power.
On Tuesday, City Council plans to hold a hearing over the bill.
Councilman Brad Lander, D-Brooklyn, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, explained to the paper that the IG position doesn’t “make policy and they don’t politicize departments.”
The mayor claims that the position is unnecessary, with the city at a record-low murder rate and a decline in shootings – though new data shows that the city’s crime rate is at its highest in two decades.
“If people aren’t happy with this Police Department and what Commissioner [Ray] Kelly has created and the 55,000 people that work in the PD, I don’t know what would make you happy,” he told the Post.
