Asian Community Watch Group aims to prevent crimes against Brooklyn's Asian communities

The Asian Community Watch Group is completely made up of volunteers and will work with Brooklyn's 48th Precinct.

News 12 Staff

Mar 17, 2023, 2:44 AM

Updated 567 days ago

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A new community watchdog group is going to be helping the NYPD by acting as an extra set of eyes and ears in the Gravesend community.
The Asian Community Watch Group is completely made up of volunteers and will work with Brooklyn's 48th Precinct.
"Asian crimes in the Asian community has been on the rise," said Council Member Inna Vernikov. She sat down with members of the Asian community who came to her concerned about Asian hate crimes.
"I thought about the model we have in the Jewish community and figured why don’t we make something like this in the Asian community?" Vernikov said.
They recently trained with the Flatbush Shoman Safety, which patrols in predominantly Jewish communities and has been successful for over three decades.
Retired law enforcement will also lend their expertise to the Asian Community Watch Group as well.
The Asian Community Watch Group walked through different neighborhoods in Brooklyn on Thursday with the goal of residents familiarizing themselves with the group. They want to be the eyes and ears of the NYPD and hope to prevent more Asian hate crimes from happening.
NYPD data shows hate crimes in general are down about 69% compared to this time last year. The new watchdog group hopes that number continues to decrease.