h. nazan ışık

13 April 2018—

“Six million people ride the subway every day. We want that ride to be safe and we want to keep making it safer,” said Mayor de Blasio on Thursday, April 12, at the Atlantic Avenue — Barclays Center station on Thursday.

How?

With a new plan called “ Expansion of Neighborhood Policing to NYC Subway”

 

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced NYPD’s new “Expansion of neighborhood policing to NYC subways,” at the Atlantic Avenue — Barclays Center station. Photo © h. nazan ışık.

Mayor de Blasio said, “neighborhood policing was an idea that was overground, now we are going to deepen the concept, …. and bring it underground.”

The New York Police Department (NYPD) began the neighborhood policing in 2015, which allows officers to get to know New Yorkers who live and work in the area they work, and people to become more familiar with officers in their area.

“We have it up and running in 63 precincts and every one of our police service areas within our housing bureau. With the remaining 13 precincts on track to have it running by October of this year,” said police.

And now, the NYPD moves neighborhood policing program underground to the subways, Officials said.

Chief of Department Terrence Monahan, NYPD, explains, “It’s not just us knowing the neighborhood, it’s the commuter who gets on that same station every single day, rides the same train every day, gets off the same station every day, starting to see the same faces,”

Chief Monahan continues, “You see that same cop every day, you see his face there. …. you now have an email to reach out to that cop whom you see as you come on. It just gets you that familiarity with a cop.. And when there is an issue, there’s someone you can reach out to. You have your cop to reach out to.”

There will be signs explaining the program with the names, pictures and email addresses for the neighborhood police officers.

The pilot rollout is starting with Transit District 30 in Downtown Brooklyn and Transit District 12 in the Bronx.

Chief of Transit Edward Delatorre, NYPD, “Within District 12 and District 30 we’re going to have three sectors. So they’ll be two NCO’s per sector within these districts. That gives you six NCOs, who will be, as well, trained by the homeless outreach, for each district.” Delatorre said, “There will also be four officers who patrol the sectors each shift to support the NCOs. “

So, it remains to be seen how successful this ‘underground neighborhood policing’ pilot program is going to be.

Mayor Bill de Blasio sounded very optimistic: “At first it sounds a little so far out of the box, you wonder if it will work? What I have seen happen is a whole neighborhood policing notion: When people get familiar with each other…it just starts a natural dialogue,”

And, Mayor de Blasio continued: “By early next year, this approach – this neighborhood policing approach to our subways will be in every transit district.”

Photo © h. nazan ışık /NKENdiKEN

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