The NYPD’s new Neighborhood Safety Teams took to the streets on Monday to tackle the city’s escalating gun violence.
According to NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, the effort would begin with 25 commands patrolling the city’s most hazardous districts in the five boroughs.
Sewell stated that more teams will be deployed in the future, underlining that the officers’ presence in the communities will be focused on gun violence and criminal activity.
They aren’t dressed casually; the back of their outfit clearly indicates NYPD Police, according to Sewell. They are there to ensure the community’s safety and to remove violent offenders off the streets.
The unit is part of Mayor Eric Adams’ strategy to make New York City safer in the face of rising violent crime.
According to police data as of March 6, there have been 215 shooting victims in the city so far this year, an increase of 18.8% over the 181 shooting victims reported during the same period last year.
According to NYPD figures, citywide gunshot occurrences have increased 14.3% year-to-date compared to 2021, with 192 registered so far this year compared to 168 during the same period last year.
Sewell said the assigned cops all went through intensive training before being sent to the neighborhood safety teams on Monday.
Community input was a part of the training, she said, with residents telling the NYPD what changes they wanted to see and what problems they had in the past.
The cops assigned to the neighborhood safety teams all received seven days of training in several areas, according to NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey.