BY COUNCILMAN RORY LANCMAN
Threats to our city continue to pour in from around the world at this time of global unrest. New York’s Finest are doing everything they can to protect us, but we need to help them.
At the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, there were nearly 41,000 officers. Today, the force has shrunk to only 35,000, leading each precinct to lose an average of 60 to 75 officers.
That is simply not enough officers, and it’s why I’ve joined my colleagues on the City Council and Police Commissioner Bratton in calling on the mayor to include funding for 1,000 new officers in this year’s budget, who are necessary to improve public safety and counterterrorism efforts.
Two Queens women were recently arrested for trying to join ISIS and planning terrorist attacks on targets in New York City. One was a resident of my council district. Events like these make it clear that threats can come from anywhere and that we must be vigilant to keep our city safe. Organizations like ISIS try to radicalize anyone with an Internet connection. New officers will be crucial in combating the increasingly sophisticated recruitment techniques our enemies employ.
These officers will also play a large role in improving relationships between the police and communities of color. Commissioner Bratton has mandated a three-day training course for all patrol officers to ensure they communicate effectively with all of the residents of our diverse city, and are current on the skills they need to police our neighborhoods. We’ll have to take police off the streets to do this and new officers will ensure staffing levels stay the same while this happens.
The additional officers will also play a key role in Commissioner Bratton’s new patrol model, which will put more cops on the beat and improve community relationships. Currently, officers rotate throughout an entire precinct, which makes it difficult to build trust between officers and the communities they protect.
The new model will ensure that officers are given the same beat for long enough to develop relationships with the local residents and address their concerns. It will also provide officers the necessary training and ability to recognize individuals suffering from mental illness, which may reduce the need for use of force.
This will make all of us safer.
That’s why the Council has made it our top budget priority to get funding for 1,000 new officers. I’m proud to stand with my colleagues as we fight to keep our city safe and improve police-community relations.
City Councilman Lancman represents the 24th Council District, which includes all or parts of Briarwood, Fresh Meadows, Jamaica and Jamaica Estates.
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