NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — In its latest effort to try to reduce gun violence in the city, the NYPD announced a new crime and quality-of-life initiative on Wednesday.
The new enforcement plan targets quality-of-life crimes in areas with high rates of shootings by addressing the crimes that make up a majority of complaints—like public drinking and open-air sales of narcotics, including marijuana, the NYPD said.
“As I stated on my first day as Commissioner, after visiting an officer who was shot two hours and thirty-nine minutes into the New Year, there are too many people carrying illegal guns and too many people willing to use them,” said NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “That has to change. Now.”
The idea is for uniformed officers to engage with and respond to people committing quality-of-life crimes that typically lead to violence, like a dice game leading to a violent dispute.
NYPD data shows a recent increase in complaints related to quality-of-life crimes. Calls about groups drinking on the street, for example, doubled since 2019, from 1,452 to 3,193 and calls about loud parties in public spaces also increased to 9,013 compared to 3,338 in 2019.
“These are the things that people are calling to complain about,” said Chief of Department Kenneth Corey, “and the NYPD owes them a response. And while most encounters begin with a warning, when our officers see someone ignoring those warnings there will be enforcement.”
The first wave of this enforcement will be deployed to the Bronx and Brooklyn in neighborhoods which have seen the highest amounts of shootings in the city, particularly Cypress Hills, Brownsville and East New York. The 17 precincts which cover Brooklyn and the Bronx account for almost half of the city’s total amount of shootings.
“To be clear,” said Sewell, “this is NOT a return to Stop, Question, and Frisk – nor is it ‘policing for numbers.’ This enforcement will be responsive to community complaints and concerns, and will address the violent crime patterns officers and detectives are confronting. This is precision-policing aimed at reducing violence in the neighborhoods seeing disproportionate numbers of shootings – and it is what the public is demanding.”
This past weekend alone, including Monday, 31 shootings occurred in the city, including a 7-year-old who was injured in the crossfire of two rival gangs.
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