Newly created DPS, SPD task force will increase police misconduct, racism

As members of the Syracuse community, which includes Syracuse University, we are of course concerned about crimes that occur at SU and in the city. However, we strongly oppose the creation of the new, misleadingly titled University Area Crime-Control Team, a joint operation of the Department of Public Safety and the Syracuse Police Department.

The idea that this unit will provide extra “safety” and “security” to the university and surrounding areas to the east is erroneous at best. First, there is absolutely no evidence suggesting the number of police officers in a given area has any statistically significant effect on the rates of any crimes. In fact, all studies on the effect that the number of law enforcement agents deployed has on crime have found absolutely no correlation between the two variables. It is similar with studies on the effectiveness of surveillance cameras in deterring crimes.

An increase in the number of police officers may give some students and community members a heightened feeling of being safe, but this will not be true for all. Increasing the number of law enforcement agents on and off campus will have the opposite effect for many, particularly those groups who suffer the brunt of police harassment, intimidation and brutality.

Police misconduct in Syracuse is pervasive; it’s a daily occurrence. In fact, just the other day one of us received a call from a Latino woman whose home was raided by the police for no reason. She said police kicked down her door at 6:30 a.m. and proceeded to tear her belongings apart supposedly looking for drugs. They found none, and now her children are scared to sleep in their own home, she said.

We regularly receive complaints about police abuse, ranging from harassment to brutality to murder. These horrific occurrences are part of daily life in the city of Syracuse, and encouraging more of a police presence ignores these concerns.

The immediate turn to punitive and repressive tactics in the face of crime is unfortunate, and has resulted only in an epidemic of mass incarceration, disproportionately affecting people of color. It’s time we start looking for long-term solutions to crime that address its root causes. In the short-term, we do support an increase in the number of late-night shuttles available to students. However, we cannot support this initiative that builds even closer ties between the university and the city’s police force that regularly terrorizes its citizens.

Derek Ford and Adrienne Garcia on behalf of Youth and Student ANSWER

Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, Syracuse University chapter.