Extra Credit - Crime and punishment

“Crime and punishment” is a rather eye opening documentary covering the politics behind NYPD action and involvement within the five boroughs. It was surprising to hear that police officers are forced to meet arrest quotas every month, and it was even more surprising to hear that some officers are making false arrests just to meet these quotas. I guess it just really shocking to hear about people in positions that are meant serve and protect society / the people, turn against those very people. For me it really grounds my perspective of NY or life in general into reality. People, no matter their role in society or what they pledge to do for society, can be corrupted. Police brutality seems like a far greater and dangerous possibility within New York.  

I always found the animosity towards the police to be irrational, how can there be so much anger towards people who risk their lives for the people. However, after learning about the way some cops target certain types of people, I understand why some of my friends, especially those of color, distrust or hate the police. They target and harass innocent minorities, even young children, who are “most likely” to commit a crime rather than go after actual criminals.  

Stephen Maing did an excellent of balancing the documentary to show the two sides who are affected by police quotas – the police officers themselves and the citizens. Maing covered the story of the NYPD 12 – their struggles within the police forces, as well as their lawsuit against imposed quotas, and the story of the citizens – people who have been falsely arrested multiple times, and the story of Pedro Hernandez. I feel by doing this it takes on the issue of quotas as a whole without leaving out any vital information / perspectives, as well as create an unbiased documentary where it shows both sides of a situation rather than make one group to be the sole victim (the citizens) or the sole villain (the police).  

Cinematically speaking, Stephen Maing did an excellent job creating an immersive and engaging documentary. The various drone shots of New York, for instance, anchored the audience to where the upcoming scenes would take place in, as well as where the area that the problem affects. The drone shots not only served as a transition between scenes / topics, but it also provided the audience a momentary break from the documentary so that they can process all the information learned from the previous scene.  

One thing that Maing did that I particularly liked was when he was filming Edwin Raymond as he went to his superior to discuss about a promotion. Maing was recording the shot of the police building from his car, hidden by a nearby tree. This was unnecessary seeing as he was only recording a building and there was no one around, however, I felt this helped further ground the documentary into reality. It reminded the audience that what Stephen and the NYPD 12 are doing is not condoned by the Police, they can be punished for recording within the police station and meetings, but most importantly it reminds the audience of how real and serious the issue is.