"New York City Will Not Punish Jaywalking, Citing 'Racial Discrimination Abuse'"

Pedestrian Jaywalking Enforcement Focused on Black and Latin Communities Criticized as 'Racial Discrimination Tactic'
Virginia, California, and Others Expand Ban on Enforcement

Reference photo to aid understanding of the article. [Photo source=Pixabay]

From now on, jaywalking in New York City, USA, will not be punished. This comes amid concerns that jaywalking enforcement has been misused as a tool for 'racial discrimination.' However, some worry that the risk of pedestrian safety accidents has also increased as a result.

According to the New York City Council on the 30th (local time), the city passed an ordinance on the 26th of last month that removed jaywalking from administrative regulations and focused on strengthening driver and pedestrian education accordingly. With this new law, pedestrians can cross anywhere, including outside crosswalks, ignoring traffic signals.

The reason New York City passed this law is due to criticisms that jaywalking enforcement has been used as a means of racial discrimination. Mercedes Narcis, a city council member from the U.S. Democratic Party who led the legislation, stated, "While most New Yorkers jaywalk in their daily lives, the regulations prohibiting jaywalking have been used as a tool to discriminate against people of color."

In fact, among 361 jaywalking enforcement cases in 2019, 90% involved Black or Latinx individuals. When this fact became known, claims arose that jaywalking enforcement was being used as a tool of racial discrimination by law enforcement, which directly led to the proposal of this ordinance.

Across the United States, the number of regions explicitly excluding jaywalking from enforcement is gradually increasing. Previously, Denver and Kansas City in Missouri, as well as California, Nevada, and Virginia, had also abolished penalties for jaywalking.

However, concerns have been raised that the legalization of jaywalking has also increased the risk of safety accidents. According to The New York Times (NYT), about 200 people have died from jaywalking over the past five years. This accounts for approximately 34% of all pedestrian deaths.