NEW YORK — As the NYPD continues to work on improving customer service and neighborhood relations, the department has launched a new greeter program featuring “community guides.”
The Community Guide is a dedicated customer service representative who will serve as the first point of contact to welcome all visitors who come into precincts, according to the NYPD.
The goal of launching the program is to enhance overall visitor experience and create a more welcoming, visitor-friendly environment for the public.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Juanita Holmes and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the program Thursday, saying the program would help rebond the police and community.
Each Community Guide will undergo customer service training, ensuring all visitors will be greeted by someone who is well-informed and can respond to their needs in an efficient, timely manner.
When asked about the difference between greeters and desk sergeants, the mayor said greeters are focused on sticking with visitors and are strategically placed to greet them. Desk sergeants have the responsibility to deal with anything that goes on in the command, according to Holmes.
The NYPD is working to place Community Guides in the communities where they reside.
As the shootings in the city continue to double in pace with pre-pandemic numbers, the mayor and NYPD said this is a focus because deepening the relationship between officers and the community “can drive down crime.”
According to de Blasio, the bonds in the community are “absolutely prerequisite to being as safe as we need to be.”
Holmes noted the NYPD is always focused on violence, but added community relationships are needed.
“If we don’t have a relationship with the community,” Holmes said, “it’s never going to be a success for New York City.”
“Community solution is the ultimate success for New York City,” she added.
Community Guides will be onboarded throughout the month of October, and the NYPD has the goal of having at least 180 guides across public-facing police facilities.
