If It Weren’t For Comstat You Wouldn’t Think Crime Was Down, And If You Don’t Think Crime Is Down Then You Don’t Know Any Better Anyway — Until You Get Mugged, But Then You’ll Probably Just Assume It Was An Aberration, In Which Case, Cool, Keep Cooking Those Books, Landsman

It’s like the Western District on The Wire but for reals (there’s audio, too!):

On December 8, 2008, he excoriates officers who failed to write enough tickets for double-parking, running red lights, and disorderly conduct, and who failed to stop-and-frisk enough people.

“I see eight fucking summonses for a 20-day period or a month,” he says. “If you mess up, how the hell do you want me to do the right thing by you? You come in, five parkers, three A’s, no C’s, and the only 250 you do is when I force you to do overtime? I mean it’s a two-way street out here.”

Later, he adds, “In the end, I hate to say it — you need me more than I need you because I’m what separates the wolves from coming in here and chewing on your bones.”

. . .

In another incident, an elderly man walked in off the street to report that someone had broken the lock on the cash box in his apartment and had stolen $22,000. When he reported the incident at another precinct, he was told that it was a “civil matter” and to call 3-1-1, the city’s complaint hotline.