NYPD Launches New Unit to Stop Hate Crimes

December 12, 2019 Kevin Deutsch Crime, Gun Violence, NYPD 0

The NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio Wednesday announced the formation of a new police unit tasked with stopping hate crimes before they happen.

The Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism squad will gather and analyze intelligence in an effort to crush extremist plots like Tuesday’s anti-Semitic mass shooting at a Jersey City Kosher supermarket.

While the police department’s existing Hate Crimes Unit reacts to crimes after they occur, the new squad will focus on prevention.

“There’s a crisis of anti-Semitism gripping this nation. There’s a crisis of anti-Semitism in this city,” de Blasio said in announcing the unit’s launch. “Now we have seen this extraordinarily extreme form of violence reach the doorstep of New York City, and we have to take that as a warning sign.”

Reported hate crimes in the five boroughs were up 21 percent as of Sunday, with anti-Semitic crimes up 22 percent. Those numbers do not include acts of hate that go unreported to police.

About Kevin Deutsch 265 Articles

Kevin Deutsch is a Staff Writer for Bronx Justice News covering the criminal justice system, drugs, and DNA use by law enforcement. An award-winning journalist, Deutsch is the author of the true crime books "Pill City" and "The Triangle." He has worked on staff at the Daily News, Miami Herald, Newsday, The Palm Beach Post, and The Riverdale Press. His work has also appeared in Newsweek, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Forward, The Independent, Huffington Post, Orlando Sentinel, and the New York Post, among other publications. His numerous television appearances include spots on CNN, MSNBC, and C-SPAN's BookTV. He has also been featured in The New Yorker. A Bronx resident, Deutsch hosts the true crime podcast "A Dark Turn" on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network.