sheaantiasian
(New York, NY/77WABC)-NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea Thursday announced a major initiative to combat Anti-Asian hate crimes in NYC. There have been at least 15 attacks against Asian Americans so far this year in the NYC area.
Shea said the plan follows two key principles, “we’re increasing our outreach to Asian American Communities and we’re also adding layers of enforcement.” He explained, “we’ll be using police officers in plain clothes and in teams to prevent New Yorkers from becoming victims in the first place.”
The NYPD’s Anti-Asian Hate Crimes task force currently consists of 25 members speaking 15 different dialects. Two detectives are being added to the hate crimes task force.
Shea also announced that the head of the Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Task Force, Stewart Loo is retiring. He will be replaced by Inspector Tommy Ng.
NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison said the new initiative to combat Anti-Asian hate crimes will launch this weekend.
Watch as @NYPDShea updates the media on new Asian hate crime initiatives. https://t.co/GGUFVu5Ici
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 25, 2021
As part of the new initiative, the department is also handing out flyers and leaflets in multiple languages.
The NYPD recently launched a website to make reporting low-level crimes easier, the crimes account for 26% of the department’s overall crime statistics or 143,000 complaints. The new portal, for low-level reporting, can be done from one’s residence or on an individual’s phone at NYPDonline.org.
The low-level crimes involve situations such as lost property, graffiti complaints, petty larceny, or misdemeanor criminal mischief.
The attacks have been fueled by anger and hate caused by the viral pandemic due to the belief that Covid-19 originated in China.
