NYPD to move hundreds of cops to high-crime precincts, subways

Faced with a continuing increase in serious crimes, the NYPD on Thursday rolled out plans to shift hundreds of cops to 20 high-crime precincts and into the subways, as well as making unannounced visits to the homes of repeat offenders who experts believe are responsible for a major part of the crime wave.

Another major part of the initiative announced at a news conference by Commissioner Keechant Sewell and her major commanders was a plan to move officers from a special traffic task force to cover the bridges between Manhattan and the Bronx, key escape routes for bands of scooter-riding criminals responsible for robberies and shootings.

Some 700 officers expected to graduate from the police academy on Oct. 17 will be assigned to foot patrols in high-crime areas along commercial strips in the five boroughs, areas that are seeing an explosion in grand larcenies from shoplifting.

Precincts that will see redeployed cops include three in the northern part of Queens, eight in the Bronx, six in Manhattan and three in Brooklyn.

“Make no mistake, they are not out there as scarecrows. They are going to enforce the law,” Chief of Department Ken Corey said of the influx of freshly minted cops to commercial areas.

The new initiatives, some of which have been used over the years, come as the city and the NYPD continue to be frustrated by a persistent increase in serious crimes, which cuts against the success cops have had in reducing shootings and homicides by double digits in September and for the first nine months of the year. However, for the nine months of 2022, serious felonies have increased by 32% over the same period in 2021. By comparison, serious crimes had dropped by 1% in the same period for 2021 compared with 2020.

Police brass said bail reform and its impact have affected the crime increase, with a relatively small group of recidivists going out and committing more crimes. Corey said that in one lower Manhattan precinct, 43 repeat offenders have been responsible for more than 1,000 grand larcenies this year, a crime category that accounts for 40% of major offenses tallied so far this year in the city.

Young criminals are also showing up as recidivists. One 14-year-old Bronx gang member facing two charges of homicide in drive-by shootings from scooters already has 18 prior arrests, said Chief of Detectives James Essig.

Sewell stressed that it is the small army of recidivists, who are often released with no bail after getting arrested, who are driving crime this year.

She said that she and the department have repeatedly explained that this group of offenders are the cause of the increase in crime.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.