A NEW York public prosecutor and a former senior policeman in the city defended the New York police yesterday against allegations that its "assertive" policing led to a rise in beatings and shootings by officers.
Amnesty International is believed to be preparing a report which will show a rise in complaints against the police and will indicate that "minority" communities - blacks and hispanics are suffering most. The report is also expected to allege an increase in the number of "unjustified" shootings by police.
Bronx county district attorney, Mr Robert Johnston, said criminals - especially drug dealers - often used complaints to "slow down" police work. He was not aware of any major increase in the number of serious complaints against the police handled by his office.
The former deputy commissioner of the New York Police department, Mr John Timoney, said he did not know of the Amnesty report but he knew there had been complaints about the police use of force. This was probably "more reflective of the age of the police force than the style of policing".
However, he added that talk of more unjustified shootings of citizens by officers was "completely wrong".
"There has been an increase by one in the average number of shots fired by police officers." This average was due to the fact that, in one instance, a criminal had fired loo shots at police officers and they had fired 258 bullets back. The high number of shots then fired had led to a higher average figure.
Asked if the new policing methods led officers to interrogate suspects more harshly, Mr Timoney said they did not. "Almost all confessions are done voluntarily."