NEW YORK (VINnews) — In light of the rising anti-Semitic attacks across New York City as of late, Senator Simcha Felder penned a letter to incoming NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea. In it he called attention to the safety concerns, and requested he bring back the Hasidic Cop Decoy program, as well as generally increase the amount of officers assigned to the 66th precinct.
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The letter can be read in full below:
Commissioner Dermot Shea
New York Police Department
One Police Plaza
New York, NY 10038
Dear Commissioner Shea,
I wish to congratulate you on your appointment as Commissioner of the New York Police Department and wish you the best of luck in this important position.
As you begin your work in this high profile role, I would like to bring to your attention concerns I have about public safety in my district and possible solutions I am requesting to address those concerns.
The recent rise of anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City has been well documented. According to NYPD statistics and your own public comments, this year alone, anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York City are up 63% as compared to 2018.
Given this increase in anti-Semitism across New York City, I am requesting that you reinstate the Hasidic Cop Decoy program. In the past, the NYPD ran this program and I believe at one point it was very successful at combating anti-Semitic hate crimes.
In addition, I am requesting a permanent increase in the number of police officers assigned to the 66th police precinct in Brooklyn. Over the last several years, there has been an exponential increase in population in the neighborhoods which the 66th police precinct covers. The number of officers allocated to this precinct has been insufficient for a long time and has only gotten worse since these neighborhoods have seen extraordinary growth. By increasing the number of officers assigned to the 66th precinct, the NYPD can ensure that the police force is the appropriate size to serve these neighborhoods.
Please contact me at my office (718) 253-2015. Thank you for your attention to this request and I look forward to your expedited response.
Sincerely,
Simcha Felder
Senator, 17th Senate District
I agree 100% with Senator Felder. I remember when the Hasidic Cop Decoy Program was in use, in the 1960’s and 1970’s; it was very successful. Potential muggers got the surprise of their lives, when at that time, they faced a .38 revolver pointed at them, for trying to harm, who they thought were defenseless Hassidim. Word soon got around the community where those incidents were taking place, and those types of heinous crimes dropped drastically. Hence, that program should be reinstated, forthwith. I might add that the NYPD also deployed another anti-crime program during the 1970’s. It was called “The Stakeout Squad”. Plainclothes detectives used to hide in back of retail establishments, (i.e. liquor stores, gas stations, etc.), which were frequent targets of armed robberies. When the cops witnessed a robbery occurring, they would immediately confront the suspects, and command them to surrender, and drop their weapons. One time, some characters who were caught in the act, refused to surrender, and tried to shoot it out with the cops, who had the drop on them. I spoke to a cop, who was at one of the scenes, immediately after such an incident. He told me (when referring to an armed robber, who tried to shoot it out with the cops, but lost), “I never saw so many bullet holes in a person”.
I believe that for political reasons, the Stakeout Squad was abolished, because the “victims”, aka the perpetrators, were minority members. I’m not sure why the Hasidic cop decoy squad was abolished? It wouldn’t surprise me if it was ended for the same reason as the Stakeout Squad. I really hope that the Hasidic decoy program is reinstated. This time, the muggers will not face a .38 revolver, but a Glock Automatic.
son
we need officer Mick Belker on the streets