Character is not the enemy of self-expression and personal freedom, it is their necessary precondition.

I mean that the function of the police is to solve problems that have law-enforcement consequences in a way that is based on a genuine partnership with the neighborhood in both the venting of the problem and the discussion of the solution.

There aren't any liberals left in New York. They've all been mugged by now.

Some people suggest that the problem is the separation of powers. If you had a parliamentary system, the struggle for power would not result in such complex peace treaties that empower so many different people to pursue so many contradictory aims

I believe that the high rates of property crime (and some of the increase in violent crime) are part of the price you pay for freedom.

Police ought to protect communities as well as individuals.... Just as physicians now recognize the importance of fostering health rather than simply treating illness, so the police - and the rest of us - ought to recognize the importance of maintaining, intact, communities without broken windows.

In the long run, the public interest depends on private virtue.