Mayoral candidate: Everyone thinks NYPD fudges crime stats - New York Post

Republican Mayoral hopeful Paul Massey said Wednesday that the “greatest authorities on public safety” believe the city is fudging crime statistics.

Massey lobbed the serious allegation during a mayoral forum at the Yale Club in Midtown, where he faced off against Assembly member Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island).

“Right now people don’t feel safer. The rank-and-file, many of them don’t believe the crime statistics themselves,” Massey said at the forum, which was hosted by Crain’s New York Business.

“Some of our city’s greatest authorities on public safety are saying the numbers are being fudged.”

Earlier this month, Mayor de Blasio and NYPD officials reported that overall index crimes were down 5.6 percent — or 2,226 fewer incidents — compared to the same time in 2016.

This includes murders, which are on pace to potentially dip below 300 for the first time.

After the forum, Massey was asked six times to explain whether he was charging city officials with cooking the books.

He would only say he was conveying the concerns of “folks on the street.”

Asked whether he personally believes that the NYPD is fudging the numbers, Massey finally said no.

“I don’t believe the police force are fudging the statistics,” he said. “I believe that people out on the streets are telling me that they’re concerned that they are.”

Asked about Massey’s comments after the event, Malliotakis said the allegation was both “irresponsible” and “offensive.”

“I do not believe it’s a responsible allegation. I think to diminish the work that our NYPD does is very irresponsible and it’s actually offensive to the men and women who serve in uniform,” she told reporters.

Malliotakis had said that while the city’s overall crime numbers are down, certain crime categories are up – including felony assault, rape and grand larceny.

She accused de Blasio of tying the hands of cops when it comes to battling those crimes – including by limiting the use of the policing tactic known as stop and frisk.

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