The NYPD is increasing the number of officers assigned to special school details citywide in response to recent violence near school campuses.
The number of “Youth Coordination Officers” is being boosted to six per precinct, according to a memo Thursday from NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey. That’s a total of 462, up from the original program’s goal of 350 across the city. Another NYPD memo, dated Tuesday from Deputy Chief Marlon Larin, calls on School Safety Division officers to step up reporting “when a school incident has the potential for retaliation.”
The moves outlined in the memos, which were obtained by Gothamist, follow a spate of recent violence. The Larin memo states that the steps were designed “In order to combat violence at and in the near vicinity” of the city’s public schools.
The YCO role was created in 2020 by former Mayor Bill de Blasio and former NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea with the goal of curbing youth crime. At the time, Shea said the officers would “coordinate with the other cops in the precinct, and with city agencies and local community-service groups that have a stake in improved youth outcomes.”
This week, three people were injured in a shooting outside a charter school in Brooklyn. Last month in Queens, a 13-year-old was charged with shooting and wounding two other teens near Campus Magnet High School. Also in January, a 17-year-old boy was chased and stabbed to death after leaving Liberation High School in Coney Island.
Maddrey’s memo outlines a series of steps to bolster communications and contacts with school officials, and to ensure that “directed patrols” at schools are completed. Chief of Patrol John M. Chell and Chief of Transit Michael Kemper will oversee the patrols, according to the memo, with Kemper also ensuring that “Transit District School Safety Teams are being strategically deployed after conferral with their precinct counterpart.”
Maddrey also orders precinct commanding officers to meet weekly with school principals, of public as well as private and charter schools; to discuss “issues of note”; and to initiate an “All-Out” that is, redirecting cops on administrative duties into the field to cover dismissals at problematic schools.
In a statement Friday, Department of Education spokesperson Jenna Lyle emphasized the NYPD’s role in keeping students safe outside of schools, and highlighted Project Pivot, an initiative launched last year to address school violence, for its part in creating a safe environment for students.
“Safety is the responsibility [of] the entire community and through Project Pivot we are partnering deeply with the community to engage our students and ensure they are engaged in safe, positive activities in and outside of school,” Lyle said. “We appreciate the NYPD for taking this step to ensure our young people are safe when traveling to and from schools, and in their communities.”
