 Testing testing you turn me down just a little bit. Oh, yeah Perfect Good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us for today's public safety briefing led by deputy mayor for public safety fill banks Following our last speaker We will take a few questions from the media followed by some questions that have been submitted by the public ahead of today's briefing I would now like to turn it over to deputy mayor fill banks. Good afternoon and welcome So I'm joined here today by NYPD patrol services bureau executive officer inspector William Glenn and he is here to talk about a new initiative that the NYPD has rolled out It's called community link, which is a team effort to address quality of life issues across the five boroughs and we say the team issues as anybody knows the mayor has been steadfast in his desire to break down silos and bring all agencies together To combat some of the issues that are taking place and the inspector was going to say how the NYPD is working with other Agencies and other community groups to address these quality of life issues We're also joined here today by department of corrections deputy commissioner of training doctor doctor Rob Gonzalez So dr. Gonzalez was pointed this past December to oversee the department's training Academy I know in his past he also was doing training a big shot use the big shot and training for the NYPD as well And he's going to give us an update on their new approach to training and the positive impact. It's had on recruitment So this is your first time tuning in today I'll go select you here directly from the many leaders across the different agencies who work behind the scenes to keep our city safe If you would like to stay informed of upcoming public safety briefings visit here from Eric calm Here from Eric calm and sign up to receive emails from Mayor Adams You can also find previous public safety discussions on the mayor's office YouTube Facebook and Twitter pages so we just passed the halfway mark of 2023 and With that the NYPD last week release is final crime statistics through the month of June as compared to where we were last year So very briefly through the first six months of 2023 New York City has seen a reductions in five of the seven index crimes murders down rape robbery burglary and grand lawson ease We are experiencing increases and felony assaults and grand lawson a portal Which has been driven by some very specific trends including the depth of certain keys and Hyundai models That the NYPD has been alluding to public to over the past I think we've had them on here a couple of times talking about this trend New York City has seen a 4% decrease in major crimes and our trended systems through the first six months of 2023 Which is a reflection of multi agency efforts to increase safety in the subway system This was not just a hard work of the NYPD There were many other agencies but more importantly people in the community who are listening and giving us feedback And we hope that this trend and we're very Hopefully that this trend will continue to go in the right direction Retail theft also continued to decline in June 2023 by seven and a half percent And we are continuing to roll out new tools and programs to prevent stoplifting and with everything that we're doing at this administration Or most things these are multi efforts. We cannot do this alone. We need you the public We certainly need our other agencies as well We certainly need people who don't work in administration And as we start continuing this this very positive impact that we're very confident that public safety is going to be heading in the right directions So the NYPD and numerous other city agencies and community partners have been focused on reducing gun violence And that's a type priority for mayor Adams, which has resulted in drops in both murders and shootings So through the first six months of 2023 NYPD officers has seized 124 guns from the streets of New York City and they've made 2162 gun arrests That being said crime statistics are not the bn of public safety I have said this numerous throughout my career very seldom and very rarely will you hear me quote statistics? Because if you are a victim of a crime that statistic doesn't mean a lot We utilize them as indicators as metrics to ensure that we're heading in the right direction Um, but one crime that can be avoided is too many And we hear this to tell you that the effort that we're doing to make sure that we can continue to reach that particular point So even though we are seeing positive trends in these numbers for major crimes categories We also wanted to update the public on some quality of life initiatives that the NYPD is continue to focus on So crime is one thing right? Nobody of course wants to car stolen. Nobody wants to house stolen Nobody wants of course to hear gunshots, but quality of life is Is it's very important as well It's taking place here and we do not want to ignore the quality of life issues that tend to To nag disturb and address our everyday everyday life And that's why we have now expected glen with us. He's going to talk about a very exciting program that we're calling community link Right, so I get updated very often on this very I think it's a fantastic thing that you're doing I want everybody else to hear it. I do we have I think we have a slideshow with that as well Are you going to address as well? I'm going to go through my notes and explain to everyone What exactly it is and we have some before and after pictures to kind of demonstrate what we've accomplished in certain places So just to clap for for the audience the NYPD has broken up into many bureaus, right? Very important bureau is the patrol services bureau and in a nutshell the patrol services bureaus If you look at all of the precents are considered patrol There's a paramilitary organization They go up to a bureau called the patrol services bureau and expect the glen works in the patrol service early for Cheap child. So expect to take it from here. Good afternoon deputy mayor. Thank you for giving me the opportunity So community link like deputy mayor bank said, you know quality of life conditions Sometimes negatively impact literally millions of new yorkers each day throughout the city Halfway through 2023 like deputy mayor bank said we are down 25 percent in shootings and one shooting is too many However, we're obviously trending in the right direction while addressing shootings We are also focusing on quality of life conditions throughout the city The goal of the community link initiative is pretty simple to provide targeted services by creating a direct link between community leaders appropriate city agencies to identify and address persistent quality of life issues The initiative streamlines communication and creates a central repository to record address Monitor and continually evaluate complex quality of life issues that require a multi agency response Now what's the criteria to be taken on by the community link? It's pretty simple. It has to be chronic in nature Has to persist despite previous efforts by the precent or relevant city agency And obviously it requires a multi agency response Team members that work for me and the chief patrols office under the direction of chief shell They contact and coordinate with relevant city agencies to schedule operations and of course we're under the supervision of deputy mayor banks Now the mayor's office of community affairs borough directors and civilian nypd community ambassadors They maintain open lines of communication within the neighborhoods that they serve To identify conditions that need to be addressed and obtain feedback from those community members We conduct bi-monthly community meetings with every patrol borough to hear first hand what people's concerns actually are Those meetings are attended by community council presidents community board presidents bid reps district leaders and reps from city agencies The community link conducts regular inter-agency meetings as well Just to evaluate our effectiveness and identify best practices Precent commanders also contact us for areas that they're noticing that need to be addressed as well And let me be clear. This is not in any way A program to replace the 311 system rather we build off of information that we gather from the 311 system to see If anything is emerging that would meet our criteria to be addressed Now the community response teams uh chief shell has spoken publicly about them in the past Each borough has community response teams comprised of highly trained motivated police officers They are a part of um of our plan to address in these conditions Particularly when it comes to the motorcycles atvs and moped's that we've seen in past summers and past springs Taking over the streets Driving recklessly and really wreaking havoc in our community. So they're a big part of that The supervision portion within the police department. We have identified designated patrol borough coordinators who essentially assure That the effective precincts one are aware of the conditions and two that the conditions are properly documented But most importantly and this is what chief shell wanted to emphasize and this is a huge component of what we're trying to do They ensure that there's consistent follow-up Both my office and the borough coordinators ensure that we're following up with the people who are making these complaints to us Because so often people call 911 or they call 301 and they never know what comes of the complaint that they made And now we're ensuring and documenting follow-up with these individuals In addition to them. We have our community ambassadors And the mayor's office of community affairs directors who assist us with that follow-up How do we measure our success? Well, there's two ways. Obviously, there's the quantitative and qualitative The quantitative is an analysis of nypd databases 3-1-1 9-1-1 and our internal systems as well to see Are the calls going down are the crimes that may be associated with these locations? Are they going down as well or are they trending up? And if they are we have to reevaluate our approach and then as qualitative feedback I keep mentioning is the feedback from the individuals who are complaining to us And photo evidence before and after photos just to get a feel for what we're we're actually doing out there So far this year we've taken on approximately 270 complaints Um 50 percent of which did not meet our criteria. It's very we're very specific on what we take on Now one of those 50 percent that don't meet the criteria. They don't just go away. They're not discarded They are farmed down to the precincts under the supervision of the borough directors like I explained And uh and documented in a specific application that we have to track this type of work Um and these people again, they're reached out to they're contacted and we maintain that open line of communication What type of complaints are we receiving they really run the gamut and there's uh, there's a multitude of complaints But parking related to Hickey related account for almost a quarter Drug related is about 20 percent Illegal vending is in the in the range of 10 percent and then there's a whole host of one-off type conditions That we've addressed since march We've conducted 93 Operations to date most of which Have successfully resolved the conditions some we have to keep going back and keep working on because by definition These are some of the most challenging types of uh of conditions out there We've done abandoned derelict vehicle operations with the partners in sanitation Um, we've assisted sanitation regarding illegal vending. We've provided support to them As well as department of health and mental hygiene depending on the condition Um, and like I mentioned before multiple dirt bike and atv operations with multiple partner agencies and seized almost 8,000 of these illegal dirt bikes and mopeds to date Um, and I think you know, it is not a coincidence that the reduction in shootings This is part of it. This is addressing those types of of quality of life conditions that you know lead to the The perception um that that you know, you could do whatever you want on these motorcycles and dirt bikes So we addressed that as well One particular success story, um that I think you'll be able to see from the slide up on the screen A very unique situation that had been um Really causing concern to a community for several years that a severely mentally ill individual Who had erected a structure Adjacent to a home where he provided power to it with propane tanks and batteries He had animals there that weren't well kept It was a source of literally hundreds of 311 calls over the course of several years As it came through 311 each agency tried to address this on their own individually to no avail The 311 calls continued and this this man never received the help that he really needed Through community link, um through the leadership of deputy mayor banks and chief shell We were able to put our heads together and approach that location with d.o.b fd Sanitation department of homeless services department had the health and mental hygiene as pca the red cross all those agencies provide and offer services that ultimately this individual took Um, he was provided housing His animals were provided the proper care that they needed and the structure that was providing Um Or presenting so much concern to the community and a danger to the way that the the tanks were in there and the batteries Was successfully taken down Um providing tremendous relief to the community So that's one example of a multitude of agencies coming together and without the central repository of community link probably would not have happened So that's uh, that's just one example Red Hook, brooklyn is another example where there was concerns about essentially a an rv village that had popped up And uh, you know, we wanted to get the root of it. We conducted multiple steps of outreach Um department of health and mental hygiene again department of homeless services sanitation pd We're able to get some people help that they needed We're able to convince other people to move along and we're able to identify some of these rvs That were just derelict and abandoned and uh, we had them towed away as well So we're able to address that condition And there's a multitude that I could go on to explain uh another situation also in brooklyn A hoarder with multiple vehicles on the street Garbage piled high uh that had been there for several years With uh causing concerns to the communities and eyesores attracting uh rodents as well It was just a problem for the neighborhood with our partners Offer of services ultimately able to get that resolved as well And that's just a few examples. Um, and there's many many more that uh, you know We've come together with partner agencies to address these conditions and I think we're headed in the right direction You know, I just I I just can't one thank you because you do a fantastic job I'll be giving a lot of credit but the credit really stays with you because you're coordinating this you and the other agencies so Um, so for one inspector. Thank you Uh, and to the quiet life is very important I used to just say jokingly and I don't know if I was really joking about it or not I'd rather be burglarized once a year That have a consistent quiet life issue that takes place over and over and over and over again those are the things that kind of nag and People lose faith in government. They lose they lose they get You know, they get very depressed. They just feel as though their governor's not working for them So it's really important for these quiet life issues to be uh To be taken and I'm I'm very happy and the mayor's happy at the progress of this is going And even though we have somebody from the nypd up here. This is a multi agency Attack we could have had a lot of different agencies up here. He's coordinated coordinated through the patrol service bureau Uh, but it's not just the nypd who's involved with this. So a couple of quick questions I just want to clarify give an example of a of a condition that you would send back to A precent or another agency and they give an example of something that would stay in community link So an example of something that pretty much gets farmed back down through precents is like a chronic Black driveway condition a chronic double parking condition, which I think so many people here can relate to But it's something that can be handled on the precent level And that's something that we send down to our our bureau executives who send down to the precent It is tracked in that specific application that we have and we we have through that application the opportunity To provide oversight and to ensure that. Hey, have you addressed this condition? Have you contacted? Mrs. Jones or whoever was complaining and have you told her the efforts that you've made to correct the condition? It doesn't require a multi agency response. We can handle that with our own resources So that's an example of something that kind of we evaluate we triage and then we send down to the precent At a multi agency response. Um, I think that the the mentally ill individual in park slope is a perfect example Yeah, perfect example. So what are some of the agencies that are involved in community link other than the nypd? Well, so we have um fd sanitation department of buildings department of environmental protection um dcwp Um, I feel like I'm gonna leave somebody out We it's a good example. So just we have a bunch any agencies that can actually Take and solving this particular issues at the table with any relevant agents. Some have larger roles than others, of course Depending on the nature of the complaint. Um, but again through your leadership We have the ability to just with one phone call get whatever relevant agency is needed And and bring them into the fold and address whatever the condition is got it excellent expected. Thank you very much. Appreciate it Okay, so next up we have uh, dr. Gonzalez who's the head of training and development for the department of corrections Dr. Gonzalez has been in law enforcement for a very long time. He rose to the ranks when he got his phd He brings a wealth of experience in both law enforcement and in education to corrections And he's been there for approximately, uh, six months and we're gonna hear a little bit about the Things that we're doing as far as recruitment and training, right? That's actually been like pretty fascinating. It's a great metric Uh, as long as we can continue it, right because you know corrections have it Very difficult to job. I mean, I can't even explain the degree of difficulty. They're inside. Nobody sees what they're going through They're reading the papers and they get the whatever sources about but unless you actually Experiences the challenges that the correction officers go through and it makes go through and then, you know There's staffers who work the horn correction officers who are it's a very tough environment to be in Um, so it makes it difficult to recruit, right? Uh, in those particular positions, we used to see a big big turn of fallout And I think we've have some positive areas there. So let us let us know what's good. It's happening behind those walls Sure. Well, thank you, uh, deputy mayor banks for having me. Um, as you mentioned, um, I have three decades of law enforcement experience Uh, I was hired to come to, uh, corrections in december of 2022 And since taking on that position, I have a new admiration, uh, for the work that correction officers do Going into the facilities experience the facilities myself once I once I entered the agency And seeing exactly what they deal with. Um, I do like most consider it the toughest job in law enforcement Because in most cases you're by yourself You're in an environment, um, where things can go, you know in a different direction really relatively quickly Um, you know and as a result of my appointment in december Part of the interview process, uh, was how how can we, uh, make better the training, uh, for correction officers and and in doing that We wanted to identify a facility So it was the uh, the idea from deputy mayor banks, uh, to empower commission melena To identify an individual and that individual ultimately was I To come up with a way that we can train correction officers in the nypd state of the art facility Go back to 2008 when I was lieutenant in the nypd I was actually a lieutenant at the police academy in the training bureau when we broke ground on that particular facility Fast forward to 2014 when william bratton was the police commissioner I was appointed to be the assistant commissioner at the time who actually turned the key to move into this facility And if anyone has been to this particular facility in cospoint queens, it's a 70 750 000 acre I'm sorry 750 000 square foot training academy with 32 acres Um, and if you've ever been to this facility, it's it's a palace It's probably the best law enforcement training facility in the country And I'd probably put it up against the world for that matter They not only designed a state of the art classroom Huge cafeteria a huge gym, you know for for physical training and tactics and those type of things But they also have scenario-based classrooms about a dozen of them One of them happens to be a train station where you can actually train transit officers that are assigned to transit So they can go in and participate scenario-based training. There's a bodega. There's a an apartment to do domestic violence training There's two precents There's a couple of courtrooms grand jury room criminal courtroom inside this particular facility to give the nypd A real hands-on experience in doing training as police officers So the vision under this administration was to see how we can bring other municipalities in new york city To that particular facility so they can have Again a better experience in training So when I was hired in december The first project that I was tasked with on the commission melena was how can we bring DOC correction officers into the nypd so they can have the same experience As the nypd does in being in a state at our facility So I was happy to say that in february we held our first correction officer academy After 12 weeks, um, we were able to graduate them from the correction academy Following what an eight-week field training program, which was another um kind of realignment of training that we did At the department of corrections Prior to me getting there in december the current academy class for the department of corrections was 24 weeks So what we did is we condensed it to 12 weeks of in-class experience at the nypd academy Followed by an eight-week field training program under the mentorship and leadership of veteran officers our field training officers Inside the facilities And i'm happy to say that today is the last day of the field training program July 14th, and we didn't lose a single recruit officer during our field training program And I think that needs to be uh accentuated in that normally when uh correctional officer recruits graduate their academy Within the first couple of weeks when they're exposed to the facilities in rackers island Some of them just don't stay they resign they go back to their old positions For for different reasons, but with this particular group With the realignment of the the training from 24 weeks to 12 In addition to the eight-week field training program, we were able to keep all of them So we have a hundred percent turnover rate. I'm happy to to to announce that and deputy mayor myself had quite a few conversations over the last Few months on what this new training program would look like At the nypd academy and ultimately what the field training program would look like and it's been successful up to this point So with with that experience, um, we also merged the success as you mentioned deputy mayor That we're having with our recruitment strategy We've implemented a robust recruitment strategy in which we identified one captain Which is equivalent to a rank of a sergeant in some agencies and eight officers a diverse group of officers Who since january since we created the unit unit has been at 150 different locations in and out of new york city So they're the faces of not just a community, but also those persons that we have in custody that are reflective of those persons in custody So we've had great success. We had an open enrollment period We had an exam that we launched in early july We've had 1,500 persons actually register and take the exam So moving in the right direction when normally we've only had a few hundred people take our exams So as a result of just looking at our training, uh, the experience of the training Publicizing the training through social media Through written literature We think that that had a direct impact on trying to recruit more individuals Into doc and you may have heard that we've also relaxed the college requirement for this current exam And we did that But we haven't gotten away from you know encouraging individuals in corrections to make a personal investment themselves In may we launched a scholarship unit where now we provide scholarship opportunities to our officers at corrections Uh, so there's a lot of different things that we're doing at corrections to make a personal investment officers through training at a state of our facility Giving them real support when they get in their facilities after they graduate In addition to offer scholarship opportunities to help them make a personal investment in themselves Both professionally and personally Hey doctor, you know, I'm just very impressed with that. I do know that it is a very tough job I'm going to take a little stab at you when you went to ypd. You said it's the toughest job Now you say your correction says it's a tough job. Let's just say that these are all all tough jobs I I did some time training with emt. I thought it was very tough. So we all I drove a bus is a tough job We all have these tough difficult jobs, but ultimately, you know, we have a commitment to Give to the citizens of new york city the best effort and the best job we we can and it certainly very much looks like We're doing it that way and as we at the nation is having difficulty in attracting people into the public safety arena These early signs are very encouraging to uh, to what's taking place here So I just want to say hats off to you and commissioner melena and in addition to you training there, right Most we're trying to get as many of the public safety agencies To do uh, some kind of shared training In the police nypd's facility. We're actually going to be breaking ground shortly on the correction academy I like to call it the new york city public safety academy because we're going to be looking to A lot of training there so we can all learn and train from one another to deliver the best services that we possibly can To the citizens so hats off to you. Thank you the man is expecting some uh Big things from you and that's why you are delivering. So very much appreciate it Okay Thank you We will now take any on topic questions from the media if there are any I'm wondering um, this is a question for you mr. Deputy mayor for you dr. Gonzalez I wonder if these efforts that you're making to recruit and train will help you head off efforts by Prisoners rights groups legal aid et cetera and the federal monitor to hold the city in contempt of fort and or appoint a federal Receivership because they've been highly critical of the conditions though violence and the other things that they claim that they're seeing No, that's not But Well, okay, we it's No, we we're going to do the best job that we possibly can right and the federal monitor has a job to do the um The advocacy groups they have a job to do Um, and we can go back and forth and debate those type of jobs of what they're doing They can debate us but from this particular administration We're just trying to do the best job that we possibly can if you really break down the issues that's taking place At rike is the disinvestment that's taking place over the years and years and years I would say here that I think commissioner melena is a phenomenal Um agency head. I think he's doing a phenomenal job. He won't get the credit for there are still some challenges there But we're not doing anything Uh because of anybody else, you know the mayor says hey, we have to put out the best effort Regardless of who's writing about it regardless who's asking about it regardless who's looking over We owe that to everybody to do the best start that we possibly can and once we do that particular best start We will see where the chips lie House, which obviously seems like a really good training for that. You're doing a good job I don't know if I don't know if we're trying to convince people We're just trying to do the best that we possibly can and if if in fact people look at it And who are in a decision-making process and says that's something positive That's for them to decide like that's their particular issues here Um, if I'm hearing the questions of what are we doing this for that particular reason? Not at all and I don't know if that is a question But if it is a question not at all we're not we're not playing I'm not playing chess but the other that the best start that we can do Every single minute of the day how we be able to do this to deliver the best service here There's people on rikers island that need it They're they're incarcerated there under some very very tough conditions their correction offices that go there 16 hours a day, you know five days a week their workers, right? We think about their staffers that go there all the time and it's not the ideal condition So we're just trying to be able to have a work environment where everyone could prosper So I'm trying to throw a strike the umpire close to the ball. That's his or her decision to be able to do that I didn't say administration. I said decades. No, I'm gonna but this is in marshal knows so much So we we guys stay on topic. I didn't say previous administration. So that's what we rather do I never said that I says decades This has been decades and decades and decades of dysfunction didn't say prior administration. All right, so if you heard that Um, I think you heard incorrectly. It's been decades of dysfunction that's taking place over there in rikers island So what happens is that we're trying to do the best that we possibly can so if you contrast that With sanitation with the fd and y which are starting to do the best job So if they're doing a great job before this administration and heritage, we're gonna try to do a better job So for so on so we're not doing anything here because of anybody else New year post you dropped something earlier on the floor You have going in from the city your line is you can now unmute your line You have you can now unmute your line All right Earlier this week the administration reached out to new yorkers asking them to submit questions for the officials that have joined us here today We will now get to as many of those as we can with the amount of time that we have left Our first question comes from divine in brooklyn for the nypd who asks What metrics are being used to measure whether people are actually safer as opposed to just feeling safer? So obviously, um, you know, the whole community link concept is feet is getting Feedback from each and every person that brings a complaint our way Now there are literally millions of three and one complaints that come throughout the course of the year So the goal is to get feedback from them the goal is to track And and understand if our efforts are in in fact effective That's the ultimate goal in terms of measures We're always open to and exploring different technology options too to do conduct outreach throughout the city and uh and measure that as well Thank you next question comes from serbian queens for the department of correction who's asks What are your plans to recruit in ethnic communities? Well, thank you for your question. Um, we've like I mentioned We've created a unit with one captain and eight officers who have been at 150 different locations in and out of new york city We've identified those locations through gps tracking and most of those locations are in the diverse neighborhoods And we also post those locations on social media Prior to the events actually taking place so Individuals can engage our staff and ask questions about the position about the occupation But we take a hard look, you know looking I mean years ago. They used to use maps with pins We've actually Got into the 21st century where we actually use gps tracking and many of those locations are at job fairs at college fairs At events hosted by, um clergy. So we're in your neighborhood You know if you look out look us up on social media join our web page join the boldest and you'll see that we are all over new york city We're all over up in Manhattan in the Bronx in brooklyn because coincidentally that's where a lot of our officers reside So we want to strategically Identify those locations and do our recruitment in those locations so that we can bring in people that are not just reflective of new york city But also reflective of our persons in custody Thank you next question comes from sb in brooklyn for the nypd who asks With more cops patrolling subway stations. How does the department choose what stations to focus patrols on stations near school buildings? Let me let me just jump on that There's a lot of criteria to determine of course the crime statistics are one certainly we work with the mta very clearly they have Surveys that go out to determine uh How people feel about being safe and of course we know the the flow of how many people are in so if you're having time Square where you could have 250 000 people a day you're going to see a lot more coverage there than of course you might see On an all stop that's in another out of particular broad is taking place there. So crime Surveys the amount of traffic that's taking place, etc. So is the determination And our final question comes from julian and queens for the department of correction Who asks as the new deputy commissioner of training you've implemented changes to training curriculum What of those changes has contributed to the improvement of the department? Uh julian thank thank you for your question As I mentioned in my my previous statement we realigned the academy from 24 weeks to 12 We took a hard look at the curriculum to see how we can make changes To improve not just the the tactical and the safety of our officers But also understanding our persons in custody so that we can provide them with the proper care and the proper service That they deserve but we've been taking a hard look. We're always taking a hard look We're never afraid to pivot and make whatever changes we need to relative to whatever current trends A relative to oversight boards that may make Recommendations to our curriculum, but i'm comfortable with the curriculum I think it is reflective of Those important priorities in the agency and like I said, we're always bringing in academics to look at our curriculum So various individuals and different Expertise whether it's academia or also law enforcement And um are always looking at our curriculum so that we make those improvements in our and what we're doing in our profession Thank you very much on behalf of the adams administration I would like to thank everyone for tuning into today's briefing. We look forward to seeing you all the next one. Have a great day