The NYPD has announced an initiative to combat the surge of violence taking place New York City streets, after the police department failed at trying to get ahead of the recent rise in knife-related assaults.
For the first three months in 2015, the city saw 750 stabbings and slashings; so far in 2016, the city has seen a 22 percent increase, at 916.
According to police analytics, 53 percent of stabbings occur indoors and—contrary to media portrayal—only a total of 6 percent of knife-related incidents occurred in train stations and homeless shelters.
“Unlike shooting incidents, stabbings and slashings are more often the result of personal, adverse encounters with strangers, with disputes, street fights, or as I’ve indicated, domestic incidents,” said Police Comissioner Bill Bratton, standing alongside Mayor Bill de Blasio during a press conference on March 22.
Along with better analyzing the department’s CompStat data, the police will step up their presence in slashing-prone areas and increase their effort to taking knives off the streets.
The city plans to closely monitor nightclubs and other after-hour dwellings where these slashings frequently occur.
“Believe me, they’re going to have a lot of visits over the next several weeks,” Bratton said. “We’re going to be constantly in these premises.”
And although officials have yet to pinpoint the exact group of perpetrators, the Chief of Department James O'Neill said “the when and the where” are “very apparent.”
“It’s absolutely essential that everyone in this city feels safe, as well as that they are safe,” he said.
