Mayor Eric Adams
outlined on Monday multiple ways New York City can combat the scourge of gun
violence.
His plans include
increased policing in targeted areas as well as long-term solutions, such as
the NYPD working with state police to implement spot checks for weapons at
entry points into the state.
According to the
blueprint, “Immediately, the NYPD will provide more resources and support to
Public Safety teams in precincts across the five boroughs.”
“The Department expects
to launch these teams in the next three weeks with a special focus on the 30
precincts where 80% of violence occurs and has already identified several
hundred candidates for these teams.”
Adams emphasized his
focus on removing guns from city streets, but also introducing more law
enforcement and mental health professionals in the transit and subway
system.
“Statistically, New
York City is still the safest big city in America. But we are not going to be
satisfied with statistics. This isn’t about other cities. This is about New
York City," he said.
Since the beginning of
the year, Adams says 350 guns have been taken off of the city’s streets. Last
year, 6,000 were confiscated. The mayor says he knows that more guns are
heading into the state through the “iron pipeline” each day “by car, by bus and
by train.”
Adams also said that
there will be an anti-gun violence coordinator in every city agency and a
reexamination of bail reform and “Raise the Age” – which the mayor says have
been exploited by gang members.
Adams says he wants those who pose an immediate threat to the
public to be detained.
According to the
mayor’s blueprint: “New York is the only state in the country that does not
allow a judge to detain a defendant who poses a threat to the community.
Forty-nine other states, as well as the federal government, allow judges to
consider a defendant’s dangerousness. New York must also meet this common-sense
standard.”
The mayor is also
asking for stiffer penalties for gun traffickers, expedited gun cases in the
courts, and for Congress to pass universal background checks for gun purchases.
His remarks come after
the shooting that killed NYPD Officer Jason Rivera and gravely wounded Officer
Wilbert Mora.