Sewell: Guarded optimism over NYPD anti-crime offensive

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell expressed guarded optimism Wednesday that the department's anti-violence offensive will soon show results, despite the latest crime data showing an ongoing spike in city shootings and other major offenses.

During a news conference detailing NYPD crime statistics for March, Sewell, the city's top cop for just over three months, acknowledged that she couldn't give a definitive time line on when multiple department efforts rolled out last month to lower crime will reap results.

"We certainly don’t want people to have to wait,” said Sewell, when asked about the progress of new initiatives like the special anti-gun units, which rolled out in mid-March. 

She said the effectiveness of the various anti-crime efforts, including Neighborhood Safety Teams and a renewed focus on reducing so-called quality of life offenses, will be assessed and reassessed.

"We want to see what's working, what is not working," Sewell said.

Earlier in the news conference the police commissioner had indicated it would take more than just weeks to reverse problems that have been years in the making.

But when pressed later about a specific timeline, Sewell, who took over as commissioner Jan. 1, said: "We know we will see results very quickly."

Major crime in New York City, already on the rise when Sewell assumed the helm after serving as the Nassau police chief of detectives, has continued climbing — a troubling trend that began in 2021. So far in 2022, major felonies have surged 44% over 2021, while shootings have spiked nearly 14% in the same period.

For the month of March alone, major crimes such as homicide, felony assault, grand larceny, grand larceny auto, burglary, robbery and rape overall jumped 36.5% compared with the same period a year ago. Shootings also increased in March by 16.2% over the same month in 2021.

The rising violence last month included a number of shootings that killed or wounded innocent bystanders. Among the latest victims: Juana Perdomo Soriano, 61, shot dead in the Bronx Monday as she left a bodega, and Kade Lewin, 12, who died after being gunned down in Brooklyn last week as he ate dinner in a parked car with his mother.

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said a person of interest was being questioned in the Bronx shooting and an arrest may come soon. He said the reward in the Lewin homicide was now up to $10,000. An alleged Manhattan gang member arrested in a stolen car case is being looked at further for possible involvement in the boy's shooting.

While crime and violence remain stubbornly high, Sewell said cops were arresting record numbers of suspects and solving more cases this year connected to homicides and nonfatal shootings than in 2021. Detectives have attained a homicide clearance rate of over 89% so far this year, she said.

Another key initiative is a focus on quality of life offenses that Chief Michael LiPetri, head of crime control strategies, said correlate to shootings, gun arrests and other violence. LiPetri said the department is getting significant complaints about quality of life issues like public drinking and noise from certain areas where shootings occur.

 "New Yorkers are calling for help," LiPetri said.

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.