Under the mayor’s plan, every city agency will be involved in public safety, even rubbish collectors
New York City is nowhere near the 2,000 murders a year it saw in the early 1990s . But some neighbourhoods are decidedly unsafe. This month five police officers have been shot, two of them fatally. Several people were pushed onto the subway tracks, and one of them killed. A teenager was killed while working at a Burger King. An 11-month-old baby was hit in the face by a stray bullet.
“Gun violence is a public-health crisis. There’s no time to wait,” says Eric Adams, the new mayor. On January 24th he released his blueprint for combating gun violence. Mr Adams is a former police captain, but his plan goes beyond policing. Every city agency will be involved in public safety, even rubbish collectors.
But some of what he wants to do is out of his hands. He lobbied for more gun restrictions and begged Congress to pass the stalled Build Back Better Act, which includes funds for anti-violence initiatives. He wants the state to roll back bail reforms and wants violent teenagers under 18 to be tried as adults. The progressives in Albany, the state capital, are unlikely to oblige.
Controversially, Mr Adams intends to reimagine the disbanded Street Crime Unit, a plainclothes squad. Members will wear modified uniforms and cameras and will be carefully vetted and trained. Some violence-disrupters are worried that this means indiscriminate “stop and frisk”, which a federal court ruled unconstitutional in 2013, will return. But one Life Camp violence-disrupter, who has spent time behind bars, sighs that “desperate times call for desperate measures”.
Most of Life Camp’s workers have incarceration histories, which gives them credibility among the people they are trying to deter from violence. Roger “Nacy” McCleary and Justice Townsend, who were 21 and 19 when they were locked up, served 31 and 27 years. They know only too well what’s at stake. One recent afternoon in Jamaica, Queens, a New York borough, Life Camp’s outreach team canvassed Sutphin Boulevard’s “hotspots”, corners where troublemakers congregate.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Community Leaders Fear Eric Adams’ Plan to End Gun Violence Leaves the Public Out of ‘Public Safety’Eric Adams’ plan to focus on law enforcement strategies—as opposed to more community-led initiatives—has some community leaders in New York City concerned, writes JosiahBates
Read more »
Community Leaders Fear Eric Adams’ Plan to End Gun Violence Leaves the Public Out of ‘Public Safety’Eric Adams’ plan to focus on law enforcement strategies—as opposed to more community-led initiatives—has some community leaders in New York City concerned, writes JosiahBates
Read more »
NASA unveils new plan to detect possible ‘doomsday asteroids’ near EarthNasa has upgraded its asteroid hazard software to the new Sentry-II algorithm hoping to get more accurate results for known hazards and find new ones
Read more »
Rihanna spotted holding hands with ASAP RockyRihanna put on a leggy affair dressed in a skimpy skirt ensemble when she stepped out from her hotel for a ride around New York City on Thursday night.
Read more »
Laugh at Sarah Palin all you want but there’s nothing funny about her role in dividing the US | Arwa MahdawiShe may be in the news for running around New York with Covid, but it’s worth remembering how she spread another sort of virus: rightwing populism
Read more »