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Mayor Brown Announces Zero Tolerance Plan

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Office of the Mayor
Peter K. Culter
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716-851-4841

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Law Enforcement Plan Addresses Quality of Life Crimes

BUFFALO – Mayor Byron Brown and Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson today announced a comprehensive Law Enforcement Zero Tolerance Action Plan targets specific "quality of life" crimes and violations throughout Buffalo.

During his mayoral campaign, Mayor Byron Brown introduced an aggressive Zero Tolerance law enforcement plan that targeted quality of life crimes throughout the City of Buffalo. Called Tough on Crime, Smart on Crime, the plan was designed to make policing in the city more proactive and directed at improving safety for residents and businesses alike.

Since entering office, the Mayor's plan has evolved over the past several months and is consistent with Mayor Brown's decision to establish clearly defined goals and objectives in every city department, all of which will be measured through the soon-to-be-implemented CitiStat management tracking system.

Designed to be flexible and aggressive, the Zero Tolerance Action Plan will initially target three key areas: street-level drug activity; graffiti vandalism; and excessive noise disturbances.

Seventy percent of violent crime and ninety percent of property crime in the United States is now drug-related and the Mayor's Zero Tolerance plan will target drug crime, as well as other quality of life offenses, that harm residents and businesses throughout the city. The Mayor's plan combines law enforcement zero tolerance with a tough crackdown on crime with a direct community-based approach, with police officers engaged more actively in "walk and talk" activities.

"A central position of my campaign for Mayor was establishing and carrying-out a citywide zero tolerance law enforcement policy," stated Mayor Brown. "Since appointing H. McCarthy Gipson Commissioner of the Police Department, he and I have worked together in bringing this plan to reality. With Mac Gipson's dedication, and my commitment to this critically important program, the citizens of our city, as well as visitors, can now be assured that our Police Department will make quality of life crimes and violations a priority of law enforcement."

The City of Buffalo's Law Enforcement Zero Tolerance Action Plan will provide for stepped-up enforcement of violations of all city ordinances, as well as homicides, violent crimes and robberies. It will be tailored for each of the city's five police districts, reflecting their unique and distinctive activity, as well as the Detective Division and the Traffic and Flex Units.

"Quality of life crimes and violations hurt all of us and, over time, undermine our community," said Commissioner Gipson. "Under this new Action Plan, we will carefully monitor the daily activities of our police officers, ensuring that we are hitting the crimes and violations that are harming citizens and visitors alike."

This plan has evolved over the past several months and is consistent with Mayor Byron Brown's decision to establish clearly defined goals and objectives in every city department, all of which will be measured through the soon-to-be-implemented CitiStat management tracking system.

Having visited Baltimore, Maryland on March 2nd and 3rd, Mayor Brown witnessed firsthand the detail and breadth of that city's CitiStat program, which has achieved considerable city service efficiency and accountability.

Under the Action Plan, Commissioner Gipson will meet with the Department's chiefs and brief them on their respective responsibilities, including providing the chiefs with specific goals and measurable statistical objectives. In view of the Commissioner's direction and the contents this Action Plan, all Department police officers will function as community police officers, expected to respond to all calls for service within their respective districts, but now expected to focus on specific Zero Tolerance anti-crime tasks.

In addition to the Action Plan's three initial key areas of focus, other crimes and violations that will be addressed are: youth curfew enforcement, prostitution, street gambling, panhandling, illegal street vending, littering, parking enforcement (including abandoned vehicles), open container law and obstructing sidewalks/storefronts.

In addition to the quality of life agenda, the Action Plan contains clarification on city parking enforcement issues.

As directed by Mayor Brown, the Corporation Counsel has submitted an opinion regarding parking regulations in the City of Buffalo. Within that opinion, the Corporation Counsel stated, "This [Common Council] resolution [of May 30, 2000] is not effective … until official signs changing the hours are posted."

Therefore, posted signs throughout the city govern all parking regulations and should be obeyed. While posted signs take precedence, in the absence of posted signs, markings on meters must be obeyed.

Accordingly, the following city parking enforcement actions will take place immediately:
the Corporation Counsel's opinion will be filed immediately with the Common Council;
the city's Public Works Department will begin posting new parking signs as quickly as possible and Mayor Brown will request that the Common Council pass a resolution establishing free street parking in the Downtown Parking District.

"From concepts like 'Park and Walk' police patrolling to a more predictable and reliable parking enforcement system, this Action Plan provides the necessary framework for moving our city forward, establishing clear goals and objectives for the Police Department, strengthening accountability and ensuring that residents and visitors alike can count on a better quality of life in Buffalo," said Mayor Brown.

Mayor Brown also highlighted significant police activity increases for the months of January and February of 2006 as compared with the same time period in 2005.

The statistics are:

"These increases are important and reinforce my commitment to guarantee the best and most efficient law enforcement service for our citizens," said Mayor Brown. "As we intensify our focus on quality of crimes, in addition to other criminal activity, our goal is to reduce offenses citywide that harm residents and visitors. Buffalo, under my administration, will no longer tolerate any of these illegal activities."

In addition to the release of the Action Plan, Commissioner Gipson announced a new Quality of Life form for residents and businesses. The form, which details many quality of life violations, is designed to assist citizens and businesses in contacting the Police Department directly on specific quality of life-related complaints.