How PR blunders can make you popular: the example of Ray Kelly

The New York City Police Department has suffered major PR blows this past month. Earlier this week, 3 New York City police officers were acquitted of sodomy charges against a Bronx man. This, even though a conviction seemed nailed down based on the available evidence. Recent statistics on the NYPD’s “random” searches of large bags in the subway system shows evidence of racial profiling. A Bronx police officer has had to be reassigned in the past week, most likely due to his whistle blowing on the corrupt falsification of summonses. In addition, a survey of retired police officers in the system shows that more than half of them knew of crime statistic deception.


Even with all of this working against the police department, police Commissioner Ray Kelly continues to have a favorable approval rating of nearly 70 per cent, according to a Quinnipiac survey. This cuts across racial lines, and is far higher than approval ratings for the Mayor.

It seems implausible that his ratings could be so high at a time of evident corruption in his department. Perhaps this is because the era of Giuliani-style corruption is gone. Trampling of civil rights was common place in his efforts to clean up the City. Now that New York resembles less Juarez and more Disneyland, Kelly can be seen as the savior of the common man. Or, at least, the lesser of two evils.