When I had the job of police commissioner, 20 years ago, I was more sensitive, more cognizant of complaints and concerned about public opinion. I've learned to do what I think is the right thing. That lessens the impact of criticism. You get used to a pressurized environment and expect it every day.

Raymond Kelly

Categorized in : Thinking Criticism Police

I think one of the biggest scams in law enforcement is the monitor.

Raymond Kelly

enforcement law thinking

A broad base of knowledge is critically important to our ability to investigate terrorism.

Raymond Kelly

broads terrorism important

I liked the military life. They teach you self-sufficiency early on. I always say that I learned most of what I know about leadership in the Marine Corps. Certain basic principles stay with you - sometimes consciously, mostly unconsciously.

Raymond Kelly

marine military self

I never think of the word legacy. It doesn't mean anything. You do the right thing, in my judgment, and things will work out. That's what drives me. I'm not looking for legacy or history books or whatever. I know what we've done here has saved a significant number of lives. The burden is not on me. It's on the politicians who made the decisions to limit what we're doing. They're the ones who are going to pay a price, in my judgment, if crime significantly increases.

Raymond Kelly

mean book thinking

I think I've had a long, distinguished career in public service. It just goes to show you what some politicians will do. They'll say or do anything to get elected. I know all these people. They all claimed to be friends of mine up until their mayoral campaigns. They'd call me on the phone and ask for information or come over here and sit in this chair to get briefed.

Raymond Kelly

long people thinking

Good news is not news. Bad news sells. Confrontation sells. And that's what the press is always looking for. I'm not bragging, but I have the highest job-approval rating of any public official in the city. And I've had it consistently. The approval rating for the police department is 70 percent. This notion that stop-and-frisk has torn the community apart is false.

Raymond Kelly

bragging police community

I've been the longest-serving police commissioner in the history of the department, but it's time in my life to move on. I'm ready for new adventures, new challenges.

Raymond Kelly

challenges adventure moving

You're always trying to impress your parents regardless of how old you are. And when they're gone, there's nobody to impress. But I think my parents would be proud of me. My father has been gone for 30 years, and by the time he passed away, I was a lawyer. I hope he would be impressed.

Raymond Kelly

parent father thinking

Virtually everything I learned about leadership traits and core values, I learned in the Marine Corps. To this day, I keep a list of the traits in a little black book, 14 of them, including integrity, justice, bearing, enthusiasm, endurance - all indicators you aspire to when you're a leader.

Raymond Kelly

marine integrity book

I think it's only natural to want to look good. I enjoy good clothes, so 18 years ago I moved to having custom-made suits. They last longer. They fit you better. In my opinion, I think men don't spend enough on clothes.

Raymond Kelly

opinion men thinking

If you go into any department store these days, your picture is probably taken 30 times. In London there are 500,000 cameras in public spaces. You have no expectation of privacy in public spaces.

Raymond Kelly

privacy taken expectations

New York is safer than it has been - and it's getting safer. But it's never safe. As the financial and communications capital of the world, this is where terrorists want to make a statement, where they get the most bang for the buck.

Raymond Kelly

financial communication world

Protecting the city is my job, which doesn't translate into hatred. This is war, and in most wars, professional soldiers don't hate the enemy. Hatred can blind you in ways that mar your judgment.

Raymond Kelly

hate hatred war

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that if you stop or curtail stop-and-frisk, or if cops are reluctant to do it, violent crimes are going to go up.

Raymond Kelly

cop crime brain

You can be stopped if a police officer reasonably suspects a crime is about to be committed, is being committed or has been committed. Every law enforcement agency does it. It's essential to policing.

Raymond Kelly

law-enforcement crime police

No other agency is scrutinized like the police. Everything we do is in a goldfish bowl. We are not the most popular people in society. We do things like use deadly force; we're the bearers of bad news. We're not firefighters, who are viewed as heroic, helping people, with people loving them back. The police have a much more complex and demanding job.

Raymond Kelly

firefighter police people

The NYPD has too urgent a mission and too few officers for us to waste time and resources on broad, unfocused surveillance. We have a responsibility to protect New Yorkers from violent crime or another terrorist attack - and we uphold the law in doing so.

Raymond Kelly

new responsibility law time

Since 9/11, some of the most violent terrorists we've encountered were radicalized or recruited at universities.

Raymond Kelly

universities some were most

If you want to be a cop, it's not for everybody, no question about it, but there's no place like New York City.

Raymond Kelly

city new place you

I don't watch cop movies much. I TiVo shows. I watch every Larry David show.

Raymond Kelly

show watch every movies