The New York City Police Department (NYPD) on Monday announced that it is disbanding its anti-crime unit — a group of approximately 600 plainclothes police officers who blend in with the general population to combat crime — in the wake of protests and violent unrest over the death of George Floyd.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said the officers will be shifted to other departments such as the detective and neighborhood policing units.
“This is a seismic shift in the culture of how the NYPD polices this great city,” the commissioner said in a statement. “I would consider this in the realm of closing one of the last chapters of ‘Stop, Question and Frisk’… I think it’s time to move forward and change how we police in this city. We can do it with brains. We can do it with guile. We can move away from brute force.”
Shea conceded that the decision does not come without “risk” and said the move is “squarely on my shoulders.”
The decision comes after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to slash funding for the NYPD despite violent crime surging in the Big Apple.
Breitbart News reported: “Over the last month, for example, murder has jumped more than 94 percent compared to the same time last year. Burglaries — now that suspects can be freed with0ut paying bail — have increased almost 34 percent in the last month compared to 2019. Grand larceny auto, whereby suspects likewise are freed now without having to pay bail, has also become the fastest growing crime in New York City.”
Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA), slammed the elimination of the anti-crime unit.
“Anti-Crime’s mission was to protect New Yorkers by proactively preventing crime, especially gun violence,” Lynch said in a statement. “Shooting and murders are both climbing steadily upward, but our city leaders have clearly decided that proactive policing isn’t a priority anymore. They chose this strategy. They will have to reckon with the consequences.”