Following multiple shootings across the city this weekend, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has ordered additional police resources to prevent more violence, Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne said in a statement.
These resources include the assignment of additional uniformed officers to public housing developments citywide, the deployment of plainclothes officers during shooting-prone hours experienced recently, and the deployment of Skywatch camera-equipped observation towers and mobile vehicle versions of those towers, according to Browne.
Warrants Division personnel will additionally focus on areas that experienced multiple shootings over the weekend to arrest individuals wanted on outstanding warrants, and investigators will monitor gang-affiliated street crews for any planned retaliations based on the weekend shootings, Browne also said.
According to the NYPD, in a 72-hour period from Friday through Sunday 26 people were shot, seven fatally. Three of the surviving victims were under the age of 16.
Murder and shooting rates, however, are still lower than they were at the same time last year, said officials.
Homicides have dropped 24 percent, shooting incidents are down 27 percent and the number of individuals shot has declined by 29 percent when compared to a year ago.
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