Arrests and police citations in the Big Apple have fallen sharply following the murder of two New York City Police Department officers, the New York Post’s front page reported Tuesday, the words “Crime Waive” prominently displayed in big, bold letters.
Get it? It’s a pun: A “crime waive” has swept across New York City.
Problem is, you wouldn’t get the pun if you read the web version of the Post report Tuesday morning. The online version of the story read: “Crime wave engulfs New York following execution of cops.”
Obviously, this headline promises the reader something that the story does not deliver, leading to obvious confusion.
“NY Post headline: ‘Crime wave engulfs New York,’ ” New York Daily News writer and columnist Harry Siegel tweeted. “Story: Arrests, summons, etc. down. Not one [number] showing crime up.”
New York Daily News opinion editor Josh Greenman jokingly responded with the hashtag: “#deblasiosnewyork,” a reference to the city’s mayor, Bill de Blasio.
The Post has since updated the web version of the story so that it no longer claims that crime is up in the city following the shooting deaths of the officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.
The Post headline now reads: “NYPD arrests plummet 66% as cops in virtual work stoppage.”
“NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent,” the story reported. “[A]rrests [are] down 66 percent for the week starting Dec. 22 compared with the same period in 2013, stats show.”
“Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame. Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination also plunged 94 percent — from 4,831 to 300,” the story added. Even parking violations are way down, dropping by 92 percent, from 14,699 to 1,241.”
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and de Blasio will reportedly hold an emergency summit on Tuesday with leaders from the city’s five police unions in an attempt to smooth over the recent friction between the NYPD and city hall.
