[bane]

No you're right, the NYPD definitely has its share of problems. Like any police force it needs to be monitored and held accountable. I think both of those functions have not been sufficiently used on the force.

I disagree that they're a dysfunctional and corrupt organization from the top-down. They aren't free from blame, but they aren't some mob of uniformed gangsters either.

[dreamweapon]

The basic issue is for years, the NYPD has aggressively fended off most efforts to make it more accountable and transparent (it's generally known that its "Internal Affairs" department is something of a joke, for example).

That may place it much further along the spectrum towards a "mob-like" organization than you would be comfortable admitting.