NEW YORK — Amid a rise in anti-Asian attacks across the country, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told PIX11 that police believe many of these crimes are going unreported in New York City.
As part of the PIX11 Morning Show’s new bi-weekly interview series with the commissioner, Shea on Thursday spoke on what the NYPD has been doing to address the bias crimes.
So far, this year has seen at least 10 suspected anti-Asian crimes in the city, while the NYPD said there were 29 such attacks reported in 2020.
“We think those numbers are much higher,” a concerned Shea said.
“That [was] the impetus behind the Asian Hate Crimes Task Force that was built last year from the ground up…trying to build that bridge with the community and getting people comfortable and making them aware why it’s so important to report any incidents of hate,” he said.
Shea explained that it goes beyond violent crimes, saying that hate speech and harassment should also be reported because, “that person is probably doing it to someone else, too.”
During the wide-ranging interview, Shea also said he supports Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recently revealed police reform plans.
“When you look at this plan, you start to realize this goes much beyond policing,” the commissioner said.
She also spoke on reports of the NYPD going over their overtime budget, vaccination progress within the NYPD, and why he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to take police officer discipline out of the hands of the NYPD.
Watch the 10-minute interview in full above.
