The NYPD is launching a new initiative to combat the increase of slashings and stabbings across the city.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new initiative called Operation Cutting Edge on Tuesday.

The plan is to use what they call precision policing, by targeting problem areas to find out what caused the spike in the first place.

"Our analysis so far has shown that there's an inordinate amount of stabbings and slashings, and about one-fifth of all the incidents occur late on Friday night into Saturday morning and Saturday night into Sunday mornings."



Police say the weekend incidents often occur near nightclubs, so they are stepping up enforcement in those areas.

Officials say they are looking at the incidents more closely. In the past they were lumped together with other felony assaults. Moving forward, CompStat will break slashings and stabbings out as a separate crime marker.