During his election campaign. Zahran Mamdani Suggest creating a unit Who will be responsible for intervening in many incidents that today are in the hands of the New York Police Department. After its electoral victory, the city is preparing for this change.
Within his election campaign platform, there is a document explaining the idea of the elected mayor’s team. Specifically, this unit will be responsible for Take on many of the tasks that today correspond to the policeThis is to reduce the burden on agents.
he New York Department of Community Safety It will consist of mental health experts. The suggestion is that they intervene in certain incidents in front of police officers.
In this sense, the civilians working in this department proposed by Mamdani would be responsible Containing emotionally disturbed individuals in public places. That way, the first to respond to reports of erratic behavior — such as that of a homeless person on the subway — would be professionals from the new department, not police officers.
“Many New Yorkers suffer from mental health issues With little access to support networks, they suffer in subway stations and on the streets,” Mamdani’s campaign document diagnoses. Therefore, the goal is to “deliver real solutions” to people who need them.
The new unit proposed by Mamdani for New York City It has three large sections. According to the organizational chart published in the official proposal, it will consist of the following:
The new mayor confirms that there are gaps in the current prevention and containment system, and this is why The police end up taking on tasks that are not compatible with them. “We depend on them to take care of our weak social safety net, which prevents them from doing their real jobs,” the document notes.
In the same vein, Mamdani’s team is currently pointing this out In New York, “only 39% of crimes are solved.” Response times have increased by 20% as of 2022.
In this context, Community Safety Department Its purpose is to relieve the pressure of police duties. For this purpose, specialized specialists will be brought together who will deal with recurring situations.
The unit’s budget will be US$1.1 billion. Of this total, $605 million will be used to transfer existing resources and programs to the new department, while $455 million will be allocated to “new needs.”
About The Author
