Source: Pacific Press / Getty
Polarizing NYC Mayor Eric Adams is trying to keep his campaign promise of tackling gun violence in the city and is turning to controversial tactics his predecessor ditched.
Spotted on The Hill, Mayor Eric Adams revitalized the controversial New York Police Department gun crime task force done away with by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Dubbed “neighborhood safety teams,” the unit will be utilized by the NYPD in 30 different precincts across Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens, Bloomberg reported. According to Adams, officers in the unit will be uniformed and not ride around in squad cars.
Per Bloomberg’s reporting, training for the unit went down in February, with teams hitting the streets on beginning Monday. Former NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea disbanded the original version of the unit in June 2020 during the civil unrest that swept across the country following the unjust killing of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement. Speaking on the decision, Shea said it was “one of the last chapters of stop-question-and-frisk.”
To ensure the public doesn’t have flashbacks of “stop-and-frisk,” Adams pointed out during a press conference on Wednesday (Mar.16) that the unit was constructed using input from the community, keeping in mind past mistakes.
“I made the promise to New Yorkers on the campaign trail that we would put in place a specialized unit that would focus on gun crimes,” Adams said. “I also made the promise we would not repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Adams prioritized his campaign on tackling crime, specifically violent crime, which has spiked in NYC according to local news affiliate ABC7 NY.
Per ABC7 NY:
There were 485 murders in New York City in 2021, the highest total in 10 years. There were also more than 1,500 shootings, the highest in 15 years and double the number just two years ago.
