James O’Neill, the New York City police commissioner who kept crime rates low, stepped down from his position on Monday. The former commissioner is ending his three-year career as head of the nation’s largest police force and pursuing work in the private sector.
O’Neill’s leadership was seen as instrumental in achieving the lowest crime rate in New York City since the NYPD started tracking major crime, as well as the fewest number of homicides recorded since the 1950s. As Commissioner, O’Neill created the Neighborhood Policing program, which Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged as a key policy for driving crime down and developing better relationships between police and communities within the city.
O’Neill managed the expansion of Neighborhood Coordination Officers to every precinct, Police Service Area and transit district as well as reforms to department policy that decreased crime and simultaneously reduced arrests for low-level crime.
O’Neill’s departure transpires in the midst of a mental health crisis among the police force; 10 officers have died by suicide so far this year, seven of them since June. The issue prompted O’Neill to speak out on the need for cops to take care of their mental health and to look out for the welfare of their colleagues. The former commissioner will be remembered for turning policing tactics away from the aggressive enforcement of minor offenses, and encouraging officers to seek mental wellness.
It is speculated that O’Neill’s decision to step down was influenced by his opposition to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plans to close Rikers Island and build community jails in four of the City’s boroughs. O’Neill also opposed Mayor de Blasio on Ballot Question #2 which seeks to expand and strengthen the Civilian Complaint Review Board, increasing oversight across the NYPD.
“Today’s announcement does not come as a surprise,” said Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, East Flatbush, Crown Heights) “As we get closer to the end of the administration’s term, I’m sure we will continue to see departures.”
Mayor de Blasio announced that Dermot Shea will be the next Commissioner of the New York Police Department. He is the current chief of detectives who oversaw the use of data-driven analysis to craft policing strategies in his prior role. Shea began his service as a police officer in 1991, a year New York City faced more than 2,000 murders, and rose through the ranks.
“Dermot Shea is a proven change agent, using precision policing to fight crime and build trust between police and communities. As Chief of Crime Control Strategies and then Chief of Detectives, Dermot was one of the chief architects of the approach that has made New York City the safest big city in America. Dermot is uniquely qualified to serve as our next Police Commissioner and drive down crime rates even further,” said de Blasio.
As the next Police Commissioner, Shea will continue Neighborhood Policing to target gang-related violence, take guns off the streets, and continue the city’s remarkable reduction in crime. He will take office on Dec. 1.
“This is a tremendous honor and a tremendous responsibility and I’m grateful to the Mayor for this privilege to serve,” said Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea. “Police Commissioner O’Neill has been a mentor and a friend to me, and I am committed to building on the incredible success of Neighborhood Policing and precision policing, while continuing my life’s work to eradicate gangs and guns from our streets. Every New Yorker deserves to be safe and feel safe, and that has been my mission since I took the oath and became a police officer 28 years ago. As Police Commissioner, this will be what drives me.”
