Manhattan Institute scholar Rafael Mangual has criticized New York City socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani for his views on the NYPD’s staffing issues. In a detailed X thread, Mangual took issue with Mamdani’s assertion that the primary cause of the NYPD’s personnel shortages was due to the wide scope of police duties. Instead, Mangual argued that the root problem lay in underfunding and understaffing. He pointed out that the NYPD, which had 41,000 officers at the turn of the century, has now dwindled to just 33,000 due to various factors including budget constraints and the impact of 9/11 on the department’s operations.
The core of Mangual’s critique was that Mamdani’s proposal for a ‘Department of Community Safety,’ which aims to shift certain duties to non-police professionals, would not adequately address the staffing crisis. Rather than reducing the number of tasks officers are expected to handle, Mangual emphasized the need for a more substantial solution, which would be to significantly expand the police force. He suggested that the current solution proposed by Mamdani, which includes taking officers out of traffic enforcement, may actually exacerbate the problem by removing essential duties that are critical for detecting and preventing crime.
Mamdani’s stance on NYPD reform has evolved in recent months. In July, after a shooting incident resulted in the death of an NYPD officer, he tempered his former support for defunding the department. Despite this shift, he still advocates for a restructured approach to policing, which would involve delegating specific responsibilities to other professionals, such as social workers and transit ambassadors, to ease the workload on officers.
Other aspects of Mamdani’s platform that have drawn scrutiny include his views on gun violence and the role of the social safety net. Mangual pointed out that Mamdani’s interpretation that gun violence is a result of the failure of the social safety net contradicts extensive social science evidence. Mangual argued that violent behavior is not a direct consequence of economic hardship, and that such a perspective is not only scientifically unfounded but also offensive to the many poor New Yorkers who do not resort to violence.
In addition to addressing staffing issues, the debate over policing in New York City has broader implications for public safety and the role of law enforcement in a post-9/11 world. Mangual emphasized that reducing the scope of what officers are expected to do could lead to a more fragmented and less effective system of public safety. The importance of these discussions is underscored by the fact that public safety is a critical issue in this election, and the way in which it is approached can have significant consequences for the city and its residents.