On Tuesday, the New York Police Department released a memo urging cops not to stand together on city streets unless a situation that requires multiple officers is unfolding.
The move is in line with comments made by NYC mayor Eric Adams at an event in Manhattan earlier this month.
“Do not congregate, or engage in unnecessary conversation, with other members of the service while on post, absent police necessity,” the memo reads, according to the New York Post.
It goes on to address the duty of patrol supervisors, who must now, “Ensure members of the service do not congregate, or engage in unnecessary conversation, with other members of the service while on post, absent police necessity.”
On August 6, while out and about on a Summer Streets bike ride, Mayor Adams expressed his frustration with cops standing too close to one another.
On a Summer Streets bike ride, @NYCMayor Adams crossed the median to tell NYPD he didn’t like how they were bunched up in a quiet area with no cross traffic. “How about scattering out, so we ensure safety and deploy personnel? We have not been deploying our personnel correctly.” pic.twitter.com/yfpJ0DumPN
— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) August 6, 2022
“They should not all be congregated together,” Adams told one of the officers.
According to City & State New York’s Jeff Coltin, Adams then suggested the NYPD hadn’t been “deploying [their] personnel correctly.”
“How about scattering out, so we ensure safety and deploy personnel?” he said.
Adams added that he was “going to find out who’s in charge” of that particular squad, so he could ask if what they did “came from the top.”
So basically breaking up their outside hangout instead of actively doing their jobs? And it took @NYCMayor witnessing this in person for it to change? Where is oversight like this within the NYPD?
— Dan Radzikowski 🍎 (@DanRadzikowski) August 6, 2022
Adams’ comments received support from many New Yorkers. One Twitter user based in the city questioned why it took so long for officials to take action against the congregation of officers.
“Where is oversight like this within the NYPD?” he wrote.
Just weeks later, the calls appear to have been heeded, however whether NYPD officers comply with the new guidelines remains to be seen.
Fear of crime has been on the rise across the city, leading for calls to increase police presence in particularly notorious areas.
Story cited here.