Hi henrychicheung,
Urinating in public is considered to be a "civility crime" or a
"quality of life offense".
According to the site:
http://www.furious.com/assorted/nyvsmayo.html
"My hopes were dashed, though, when I saw that almost everyone there
ended up paying a fine. Drinking in public, smoking marijuana in
public, urinating in public, even spitting in public (though I imagine
they must have spit in the general vicinity of the ticket-bearing
officer), all paid a fine of anywhere from fifty-five to seventy-five
dollars. This was starting to get boring."
Google Answers researchers can only provide general information (see
Important Disclaimer at the bottom of this page) therefore we cannot
advise you on whether to bring legal counsel of not.
With that said, according to a similar Google Answers question, a
commenter posted the following:
Subject: Re: New York City Violation
http://www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=117360
From: moskvich78-ga on 28 Jul 2004 10:09 PDT
"also, people with public urination tix: you cannot argue your case
unless you have a medical condition that prevents you from holding it
in. also, SHOW UP EARLY!"
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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jan2000/nyc-j22.shtml
Markee from the Coalition of the Homeless said that the homeless are
often given summonses for minor violations like drinking in public,
obstructing sidewalks or urinating in public. One of the men was
arrested for not appearing in court to respond to a charge of
trespassing. Markee also explained that the homeless would rarely
appear in court to answer these summonses.
One of the men who was removed from his bed and held in a cell
complained that he was given a summons for urinating, but that it had
little or no writing on it, and he could not figure out where or when
to report. Therefore he just threw it away.
==================================================
Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/misc/pdfaq2.html
What is "Zero-Tolerance" policing?
"Zero-Tolerance" was instituted over ten years ago as a full-scale
strategic attack on all crime and disorder in the City. In particular
it focuses on the enforcement of "quality of life offenses" such as
drinking alcoholic beverages in the street, urinating in public,
panhandling, loud radios, graffiti and disorderly conduct. By quickly
addressing and correcting these minor problems, the Department sends
the message that more serious crime will not be tolerated.
To meet the specific needs of their individual communities, local
Police commanders have been granted significantly more authority and
latitude in deploying there resources and implementing their own
operations to help carry out this initiative.
=================================================
http://www.sullivan-county.com/identity/arrest.htm
A spokesman for the New York City Police Department said it was too
early to comment about how the court's decision might affect the
department, which since the election of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has
focused intensely on so-called quality of life offenses, like smoking
on the subways and urinating in public. For such offenses, as well as
for motor vehicle violations, the police will issue summonses rather
than make arrests.
=================================================
http://weeklywire.com/ww/05-03-99/nash_cl-closer_look.html
New York achieved its breakthrough crime reduction by the simple
expedient of getting the police to focus on reducing crime.
Historically, police departments tend to take a covert pleasure in
rising crime rates, as they underscore the importance of the police
mission and help make the case for even more police resources. In the
early 1990s, Giuliani and his first police commissioner, William
Bratton, reversed that notion by holding local police commanders
responsible for the safety of their neighborhoods and expecting them
to get out in front of the problems with remedies reaching beyond just
taking reports from victims.
At the same time, the police also focused on matters of public
order--stopping lifestyle offenses like public drunkenness, public
urination, and, most famously, disarming the squeegeemen who extorted
money from motorists to not clean their windshields.
=================================================
http://www.laworderreferendum.org.nz/NewYork.htm
Increased numbers of police and improved police practices have brought
a decline not only in major crime categories but also in minor,
"quality of life" violations. The once omnipresent "squeegee" people
(you do want your windshield washed, don't you?) have disappeared,
aggressive panhandling on the streets and in the subways has dropped
off sharply, and reduced toleration for public drinking has (not
surprisingly) reduced the incidence of public urination.
=================================================
Best regards,
tlspiegel |
