NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced a new plan Friday to end a surge in gun violence in the city.
De Blasio said the "End Gun Violence Plan" would put resources wherever they were needed but would focus on particular sites in the city "where we're seeing an uptick in violence."
"We will combine the presence of police, particularly foot patrols, with community grassroots efforts," the mayor said.
Shea said the boroughs have seen "a sharp uptick in gun violence" but that police were "incredibly focused on pushing back on the recent violence that we've seen throughout New York City."
"We have no intention of giving back to gang members any blocks that we have earned with our own sweat and blood over the years," Shea said.
The commissioner said the biggest upticks have been in parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn but that other areas, such as Harlem and South Jamaica, had also seen spikes. He said a lot of the violence was "very much localized in certain neighborhoods and even certain blocks."
"We are moving all available resources to those areas," the commissioner said. "You'll see increased foot patrols, as well as officers in uniform in marked police cars. We'll also be overlaying that with increased technology, everything from cameras that are mobile to license plate readers and everything in between."
Shea said district attorneys, lawmakers and members of the community would all need to work together with police to "turn this tide."
"We have a lot of work to do, but I'm confident," Shea said.
De Blasio said the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on the increase in crime, with the criminal justice system still not working at its full capacity.
"We may be going through one of the most painful and exceptional moments in our history with this pandemic," the mayor said. "We may be going through profound social dislocation and the breakdown of the basic functioning of our criminal justice system in terms of our courts, but that is never going to stop us from fighting back and bringing police and community together."
De Blasio said the city "will do anything and everything to help the Office of Court Administration to bring back our court system—but not in just dribs and drabs. We want the court system as fully as possible, as quickly as possible, so we can address gun violence, so we can make sure there are consequences for anyone who harms another New Yorker."
There have been at least 634 shootings this year as of July 12 compared to 394 during the same period last year, the New York Times reported.
At least 60 people were shot last week alone in the city, but police only made 21 gun arrests—down 72 percent from the same week last year, according to the Daily News.
The End Gun Violence Plan includes:
- Shift patrol resources to areas with high shootings: The NYPD will increase foot patrols to proactively deter crime and enhance deployments in high violence areas to increase deterrence and closer engagement with the community.
- Enhance shooting investigations: The NYPD will shift detective and investigative resources toward areas that have experienced increases in shooting incidents.
- Reorganize the Community Affairs Bureau: Under newly appointed Chief of Community Affairs Maddrey, Community Affairs Officers will be deployed proactively to areas that have seen increased violence, focusing on areas with the highest need.
- Organize gun buy-back events: The NYPD will be organizing additional gun buy back events in communities with recent upticks in gun violence.
- Work with Community Partners: The NYPD will increase coordination with Cure Violence to better focus resources and hold multi-agency commander council meetings in communities with recent upticks in violent crime.
- Omnipresence: Officers from the Critical Response Group and Strategic Response Group will be deployed across the city. Many of the locations where they are typically assigned remain closed and do not necessitate the same level of resources.
Like 1010 WINS on Facebook and follow @1010WINS on Twitter to get breaking news, traffic, and weather for New York City.
