NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Dealing with some pushback, Mayor Eric Adams is defending his security plans to finish the epidemic of gun violence.
He insists the reimagined Anti-Crime Unit and different high-tech instruments will probably be efficient, not abusive, CBS2’s Marcia Kramer reported Tuesday.
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Adams by no means pulled any punches when he ran for mayor. He mentioned time and time once more that he would carry again a brand new model of the a lot maligned NYPD unit as an integral a part of his public security plan.
“I didn’t have a secret of what I used to be going to do,” Adams mentioned.
And but, when he truly did it in response to a heart-wrenching string of gun crimes during the last three weeks, the critics lined as much as say he was improper.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams requested why we’d like the brand new unit when the NYPD is already doing an excellent job of taking weapons off the road.
“Six thousand weapons had been taken off the streets final yr. I believe 400 and alter this yr alone, if I’m not mistaken. Which means we’re making gun arrests. Which means we’re getting historic numbers of weapons off the road. That’s occurring proper now. So I do wish to know what these models will probably be targeted on that we’re not already doing,” Williams mentioned.
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Throughout a string of media appearances, Adams defended the brand new models, which will probably be despatched to 30 precincts that account for 80% of the gun crimes. He insisted they might not be abusive or racially insensitive.
The Rev. Al Sharpton was simply one in every of many voices elevating considerations that the brand new unit would carry a return to stop-and-frisk policing in minority communities.
“Although stop-and-frisk was introduced down, it by no means completely went away. We don’t want see the escalation of that,” Sharpton mentioned.
“There are going to be actual guard rails. Primary, everybody goes to maintain their video cameras on. Too many officers had been turning off their cameras. We’re going to watch these interactions,” Adams mentioned. “We’re going to be taught from the previous so we don’t repeat the previous, and we’ll by no means use beneath my administration any abusive concentrating on ways that goes after individuals based mostly on their ethnicity and the place they reside.”
The mayor additionally defended quite a few different proposals, from utilizing facial recognition and different new applied sciences to determine individuals who carry weapons, to modifications to bail reform legal guidelines and different modifications he needs the state Legislature to enact.
One in all his hardest sells could also be convincing the Legislature to alter bail reform legal guidelines. Albany lawmakers have voiced open skepticism in regards to the want for change.
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In the meantime, Congressman Tom Suozzi, who’s operating for governor, unveiled a plan that referred to as for the restoration of cease, query and frisk. He mentioned the police coverage was abused prior to now, however with correct coaching it ought to be used to go after gang members and others identified to have weapons.
