NYC Cops Have Started Posting Pictures Of Homeless People Online In An Effort To Publicly Shame Them

NY Post- The Sergeants Benevolent Association is spearheading the effort, emailing a letter to members Monday urging them and their families and friends to take pictures to document the decline of the city.

“As you travel about the city of New York, please utilize your smartphones to photograph the homeless lying in our streets, aggressive panhandlers, people urinating in public or engaging in open-air drug activity, and quality-of-life offenses of every type,” says the letter from SBA President Ed Mullins, a major critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The union then “will notify our public officials in writing of what is being observed,” he said.

“We will refer issues to the proper agencies, and we will help create accountability across the board.”


The first set of snapshots uploaded to the SBA’s account on the photo-sharing site Flickr shows a raggedy panhandler approaching cars stopped at a red light, someone sleeping on pizza boxes outside a park and several people slumped on sidewalks with cups and signs begging for handouts.

In his letter, Mullins notes that while cops are prohibited from taking pictures of members of the public while on duty, “photos may be taken while traveling to and from work or any time off duty.”

“Our friends, family and members of the public are free to take photos as they see fit,” he adds.



Well slap my ass and call me Susie, it's about goddamn time we took the appropriate measures to get these homeless people off the street. Every one knows nothing gets the desired results like some good, old fashioned public shaming. How do you get someone that sleeps on pizza boxes in the middle of the city, while society passes them by, to clean up their act and get a job? You take a picture of them (only while off-duty of course, we need to maintain some principles) and post it to some website that no one has ever heard of, duh! I have never used 'Flickr', but if the Sergeant's Benevolent Association is using it to increase the employment rate than I can't imagine it's not on the verge of being the next big social media craze. You know how many citizens will feel inclined to willingly look at pictures of dirty homeless people and take time out of their day to comment on how disgustingly awful they are? All of them. SBA will have ALL the followers.  

Silly me. I thought someone that lived outside, wore the same clothes for a week, slept on the ground, and smelled like shit was already publicly shaming themselves. Clearly even I don't know the power of the internet. Judgmental looks and harsh criticism are nothing compared to any exorbitant amount of likes on a picture of a person living like a wild animal. Those homeless people are going to be PISSED when they sign into their WiFi and see all the disrespectful things the public is saying about them behind anonymous Flickr handles. That will definitely be the motivation they need to take the change out of their hat and invest in a lofty New York City apartment that has a functioning shower. Those NYPD officers.  I'll tell you, they are really doing the Lord's work. Not even on the clock and they are contributing to society by stopping in the middle of the street and taking a HD photo of a potentially deceased bum. Way to clean up our streets boys. Nothing fixes age old societal issues like the use of social media. That's how you make a difference in 2015. That's what I call a progressive police force.


.....if I were to make one suggestion...maybe start up an Instagram too? Ya know, in case that whole Flickr phenomenon never hits the ground running.