Mayor De Blasio Defends Shifting $1 Billion Budget Away from NYPD, Disbanding Anti-Crime Unit

By Yehudit Garmaise

      Would bringing back the Anti-Crime Unit of plain-clothes police officers help to get the violence in the city under control, BoroPark24 asked Mayor De Blasio this morning at his press conference. 

   The mayor did not think so.

   “Commissioner Shea made the decision to disband that unit, and he made it because he felt that there were not the best outcomes coming from that approach, in terms of fighting crime,” the mayor explained.  Since then, gun arrests have gone up steadily and intensely, which I think proves the commissioner was right. 

   “It is important to note that the January [2021] statistics showed a marked decrease in [some] crimes compared to January year ago, which was before the pandemic.

  “So, I think the new approach is working. I think we have to constantly work to bring police and communities together, which is the ultimate way you fight crime.” 

   Borough President of Brooklyn Eric Adams, however, recently told BoroPark24 that although he did not criticize the $1 billion the mayor shifted to other agencies, Adams did think the city needs its Anti-Crime Unit.

  “I would reinstitute immediately the anti-crime unit of plain-clothes officers, so that we can zero in on our gun violence in our city and bring that violence under control,” said Adams, who is running for mayor.

    Now that many crimes have increased steadily in the last year, BoroPark24 asked Mayor de Blasio whether shifting back the $1 billion he shifted away from the NYPD last summer could increase manpower in the neighborhoods that are experiencing crime, the mayor said manpower is not the issue in fighting crime.

    The NYPD, which currently employs 35,000 officers, is, according to the mayor, “the number we need.”

    Instead of increasing the size of the NYPD, instead, the mayor wants to better focus the energies of police officers. 

  For instance, dealing with non-violent, mentally ill New Yorkers is one area in which the mayor wants to reduce the role of police in situations that are not best served by them.

   “We are doing crisis calls now when folks have mental health challenges, and there is no indication of violence involved,” the mayor explained. “We don’t want to see that handled by NYPD going forward.

   “We want that to be done by paramedics, by social workers, mental health professionals.”

   Offering another example of a situation that is not best handled by police officer, the mayor, “For example, getting the NYPD out [sidewalk] vendor enforcement,” said the mayor, who said that he wants to make sure “the right agency is handing the right situation.”

    The mayor did acknowledge, however, that after the NYPD added 600 officers to the subways after multiple shovings and stabbings, many New Yorkers felt less anxious about using public transportation.

  “I can’t tell you how many people have said to me, 'I am reassured when I see an officer on the subway,'” the mayor said.

 Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.