NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The NYPD on Thursday laid out new measures it's taking to combat anti-Asian hate crimes in the city, including undercover officers and more detectives at the department's Hate Crimes Task Force.
At a press conference, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said part of the new strategy will be redeploying undercover officers who are assigned to the detectives bureau.
"We're increasing out outreach to Asian-American communities and we're also adding layers of enforcement," Shea said. "We'll be using police officers in plain clothes and in teams to prevent New Yorkers from becoming victims in the first place."
Chief Rodney Harrison said the undercovers will be out "before the weekend's up."
"They'll be trained right away, and we'll get them out there as quickly as possible," he said.
In addition to the undercover officers, the department is adding two new detectives to the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, officials said.
The initiative will also make sure 911 operators are ready for callers who need language assistance. Those callers will only need to say the language they speak and then hold the line for an operator who can accommodate them.
Residents can also email asianhctf@nypd.org to alert the NYPD about non-emergencies. If there is an emergency, call 911.
Police held forums in Flushing and in Chinatown last week and will have another in Sunset Park on Thursday night. Officials said the department's strategy is being informed in part by the concerns expressed at the forums.
Officials said police have investigated 26 anti-Asian bias incidents so far this year. Among them were 12 assaults, including three just this past weekend.
