Incoming NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell Says Getting Guns Off Streets, Addressing Subway Crimes Among Her Top Priorities
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The city's new top cop has a long to-do list of big-ticket items to address once she takes the helm of the NYPD on Jan. 1.
But the biggest job may be reconstituting the plainclothes unit to get guns off the street, which is a top priority of Mayor-elect Eric Adams.
CBS2's Marcia Kramer sat down with incoming Commissioner Keechant Sewell on Thursday afternoon.
She's just starting to figure out the intricacies of the NYPD on a learning curve that may take a while, but one thing Sewell knows how to do is get guns off the street. She not only talks the talk, she walked the walk as a plainclothes cop herself in Nassau County.
"For the past several years I've had the opportunity to be involved in gang suppression, gun interdiction. We had some great successes in Nassau County for that and I want to bring that to New York, find out what they're doing here, and see how we can marry them together," Sewell said.
Sewell, who will be the department's first female commissioner in its storied 176-year history, is cool, calm and determined to make a difference in the Big Apple. She didn't miss a beat when Kramer asked her how she'd deal with liberal district attorneys that want to stop prosecuting certain offenses.
"The incoming district attorney in Manhattan, Alvin Bragg, has said he doesn't wat to enforce resisting arrest, obstruction, misdemeanors, turnstile jumping, open bottle laws disorderly conduct, what are you going to do?" Kramer asked.
"I look forward to having as conversation with the district attorneys so I actually know what their plans are and how we can meet in the middle or at least be able to come to some sort of agreement on what we think is important to enforce," Sewell said.
The new boss of the 35,000 uniformed men and women of the NYPD said she does want to address quality-of-life crimes, including turnstile jumping.
"Turnstile jumping in and of itself may seem like it's benign, but what is the underlying issue here? We're talking about shoplifting. Is the person hungry? Is there another problem that can be addressed through social services?" Sewell said.
And speaking of subways, the fact that crime underground was up 106% last month compared to 2020 is a big concern, but help may be coming for beleaguered straphangers.
"More cops on the subways and more cops on the subways where the crimes are occurring. I think when people see police officers in uniform on the subway they have a sense of safety," Sewell said.
Another hot-button issue the new commissioner will face is the growing proliferation of weapons in the schools, and whether she will follow through on city plans to move school safety agents out of the NYPD and into the Department of Education.
"Gun violence and weapons in the schools are absolutely a non-starter, so once I have the information, I'm not punting this answer in any way, I just want to be able to give you a better answer when I have all the information," Sewell said.
When Kramer interviewed incoming Schools Chancellor David Banks last week, he said the safety agents should remain under the jurisdiction the NYPD.