Crime and Punishment Screening

The screening of Crime and Punishment was filled with issues all too familiar to me when it comes to how the NYPD have conducted their business. Personally I’m not from some of the neighborhood that receive such heavy patrolling but I am around the Marcy projects a lot since one of my good friends lives there and I see it for myself. Just being there for a day sometimes makes me feel as if I’m in some sort of police state so I can only imagine being a full-time resident. But while watching this it made me see the other side of it, the people who are essentially being forced to do their jobs this way, and the retaliation that comes from their fellow brothers and sisters in blue.

            I think most of us unfortunately have a very negative opinion or fear of the NYPD, which is a same because they are sworn to serve and protect their community. When I see a police officer my gut reaction shouldn’t being to be fearful even though I have nothing to be worried about since I myself have not done anything wrong. But with how things are conducted within the NYPD me or even one of my friends could get arrested just to fulfill a quota that is not supposed to exist anymore. But I don’t think I ever thought about whether or not specific officers really want to be doing their jobs this way, and the NYPD 12 proved that for me.

            To see and hear how ostracized these twelve officers were simply because they came forward was heart wrenching, and this is from people within their own unit. The NYPD is always portrayed as this sort of group that stands together through thick and thin, now I see it isn’t a family but almost like a mafia mentality. Those who do not conform and follow the rules are made extremely uncomfortable and they just have to endure it for their cause, which in itself is the purest form of the NYPD 12 abiding by their oath. They are truly doing what they have to in order to protect and serve those who are in serious need of this entire system changing.