Report: 600-Plus Non-Patrol NYPD Officers to Help ‘Combat Violent Crime’

More than 600 non-patrol New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers will be moved to the streets to help “combat violent crime,” the New York Post reported Wednesday.

The Post reportedly obtained two internal NYPD memos detailing its “enhanced deployment strategy” which is “aimed at putting more uniformed cops in visible posts.” The report states:

The move comes as shootings continue to surge, with the latest police data as of Sunday showing gun violence up 30 percent this year compared to last, and nearly 60 percent from 2020. Overall, major crime is up almost 10 percent from pre-pandemic times, primarily driven by a spike in vehicle thefts, which, along with shootings, became a disturbing trend during COVID.

The move also comes almost two years after New York City Officials voted to shift $1 billion from the department’s $6 billion operating budget. At the time, the city canceled the planned hiring of roughly 1,160 officers and shifted monitoring of illegal vending, homeless people, and school safety away from police, according to a 2020 New York Times report. The NYPD received a $200 million budget increase in 2021 after the city experienced a 22 percent increase in crime in May compared to the same time frame the previous year, according to Newsweek.

Additionally, an October 2021 report from the Post found that the NYPD was preparing for a “potential mass exodus” over far-left former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s coronavirus vaccine mandate. At least 89 officers were placed on unpaid leave by November for not complying with the mandate, Axios reported.

An order sent out on Monday from Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said a total of 658 police officers who are currently on non-patrol posts will be moved to patrol posts. 

“The two-part plan will see 300 uniformed officers from various assignments — such as the NYPD’s press shop, internal affairs and the terrorism unit — reassigned daily by Chief of Department Ken Corey to the 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. shift in “high visibility posts” based on crime trends, according to the memo,” according to the publication.

Each of those units will work in teams of eight officers led by one sergeant. Each precinct and housing command will also move four officers from desk duties to patrol in the second and third tours, the memo allegedly says.

“Each command is expected to have a deployment plan in place by Friday on who can be reassigned when the new units are expected to hit the street, according to a second memo from Corey sent out on Tuesday,” the Post found.