Saying a “new reality” has emerged after the deadly Paris terror attacks, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday unveiled a new elite counterterrorism unit.
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The department has about 1,500 officers – out of 35,500 – assigned to combat terrorism.
The new team will replace a unit formed after the 9/11 attacks that stationed two officers from each precinct at critical locations around the city, in addition to the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit.
For New Yorkers who experienced the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and the catastrophic September 11 attack that took nearly 3,000 lives, increased vigilance in the aftermath of attacks overseas has become life as usual. Mr. Bratton, like police commissioners before him, has bemoaned the flow of firearms from other states into NY City.
“In NY City, we’re always on the offense in terms of our intelligence gathering capabilities”, Bratton said, speaking Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”. Heavily armed police and National Guard troops have been posted at bridge and tunnel crossings and inside transit facilities, while mobile units patrol throughout the city.
The NYPD has beefed up security and staffing, including at the French consulate, France’s mission to the United Nations and Times Square.
But while there may have thousands of well-armed security personnel at the ready, intelligence is essential to protect the type of “soft” targets attacked in Paris, Bratton said.
“The idea that all of them were equipped with these suicide vests – which are of great concern if you’re asking your officers to rush in, which is the tactic here in America now in responding to the active shooter scenario”, he said.
“We know that terror can target us any time, anywhere”.
Bratton says targets like restaurants and entertainment venues are especially vulnerable because they can not be constantly protected.
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He said the IS group is adept with the latest technology, using social media and possibly “going dark” – meaning communicating plans through encrypted messages that can not be monitored.
