The NYPD may lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants for failing to report final yr’s metropolis crime to the FBI, The Publish has discovered.
The federal company had requested departments for a extra detailed reporting system beginning in January 2022 — after having spent the previous six years warning the NYPD and different police businesses of the transfer.
Since 2017, the feds even paid New York Metropolis a complete of practically $24 million in grants that the police company was allowed to make use of to get its reporting system in line.
However the NYPD has but to adjust to the voluntary system after years of warning — and now has a tough deadline of June to make the grade.
Failure to fulfill the deadline may result in a funding lack of as much as $4 million in law-enforcement grants no less than subsequent yr — and Large Apple lawmakers fuming as the town faces a probably dire fiscal future.
“At a time like this, relating to holding New Yorkers secure, leaving a penny on the desk can be a dereliction of obligation,” mentioned metropolis Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn), the council’s Finance Committee chair, referring to the town’s chilling current crime wave.
“With New York Metropolis’s fiscal future definitely unsure and businesses ordered to seek out substantial financial savings, that is regarding,’’ he added.
The NYPD’s failure to report crime to the FBI surfaced final week, when the company’s Uniform Crime Report was launched. The doc confirmed an “overwhelming” lack of police participation, together with by the NYPD, within the new reporting course of.
The dismal failure to take part got here even because the NYPD obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants up to now 5 years to assist fund the swap.
The $24 million in grants, via the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Help Grant Program, or JAG, had for use on native criminal-justice packages, similar to serving to employees mental-health disaster groups — in addition to establishing the brand new reporting system.
The brand new course of modified from submitting easy month-to-month counts of crimes to utilizing the Nationwide Incident-Primarily based Reporting System, NIBRS, which is designed to supply extra context to every unlawful act, similar to dates and demographics of suspects and victims.
Every year since 2017, metropolis officers had been reminded of the deadline for the system swap.
They had been even mandated to put aside no less than 3% of the grants, or $466,363, to assist make the mandatory modifications to conform — however may have used the whole of practically $24 million.
The feds warned businesses for the final fiscal yr that lacking crime-stat years may result in lowered grants sooner or later.
An NYPD rep refused to remark to The Publish on the attainable lack of grants by the division or present any time-frame for it to submit the correct knowledge.
The consultant solely mentioned the division has “effectively adopted NIBRS reporting” however has confronted “vital testing and technological challenges” to grow to be licensed by the FBI.
To grow to be licensed, an company should submit correct crime knowledge 3 times over a six-month span, in line with the necessities.
The division refused to elaborate additional on the “challenges’’ it was having in assembly the deadlines it’s recognized about for years.
After The Publish completely reported the scenario Monday, a rep advised The Publish that the NYPD was solely given $3.1 million of the funds, with the remaining being supplied to different metropolis criminal-justice packages.
Whereas the potential $4 million annual loss in funds could also be a drop within the bucket in comparison with the NYPD’s $5 billion funds, each greenback counts for businesses throughout the town amid the present stark financial panorama.
“They’re dealing with a bump in crime and a reduce in funding,” metropolis Councilman Joe Borelli (R-SI) mentioned of the NYPD. “The division shouldn't depart a single federal greenback on the desk, as it'll make it more durable for us to barter a restoration of cuts in subsequent yr’s funds.
If the NYPD doesn’t correctly report its crime from 2022 — and make up for the already lacking yr of 2021 —when making use of for the grant in June, the town may lose an annual roughly $3.9 million in grant cash.
“They have already got sufficient enemies on the council, and giving them a rational argument to justify funds cuts received’t assist.”
The mayor had already ordered all businesses to chop 3% of their funds subsequent yr, earlier than the migrant disaster heated up beginning in April. Mayor Eric Adams has estimated that the busing of migrants from the border to the Large Apple will price the town $1 billion by subsequent yr.
The NYPD alone is dealing with a reduce of $157 million subsequent fiscal yr.
Metropolis Corridor didn't return requires remark.
Post a Comment