Parsing NYPD data: Arrests

Number of service requests to NYC’s 311 from 2004 to 2016: 24.54 million

A curious thing popped up on the way to the ice-cream truck. I was looking at all the notations NYPD makes while closing out a 311 ticket. There are 16 close-out comments that number at least 100 or more. The top three, from 2010 to 2016, are:

1. The Police Department responded to the complaint and with the information available observed no evidence of the violation at that time.  n = 915,303

2. Police Department responded to the complaint and took action to fix the condition.  n = 650,761

3. The Police Department responded to the complaint and determined that police action was not necessary.  n = 370,297

And then, at number 13, was this curiosity:

“The Police Department made an arrest in response to the complaint.”

I had no idea people can get arrested as an outcome of a complaint to 311. There are 1289 of these arrests and number a couple of  hundred a year, starting in earnest in 2011. So, is this people calling in blood-curdling screams from next door? Murders? Mayhem? Nope. 311 doesn’t take those calls, 911 does. There are all run of the mill things, but first I have to get me some lunch and maybe do some real work – see you later.