Crime in New York has increased massively in the pandemic. The new police chief Sewell is now required to ensure order.
The job of New York Police Chief is not a piece of cake. As shown in countless films and series, the executive in the metropolis has to cope with one difficult challenge after another. New Head of the New York City Police Department – Keechant Sewell is NYPD’s first woman.
Sewell himself comes from the focal point area
Sewell grew up in Queens, one of the five boroughs in New York. She shares her story of origin with the new mayor of the City of Cities, Eric Adams, who was also a cop before his career in politics and who nominated Sewell for the job.
“Keechant Sewell is a proven crime fighter with the experience and emotional intelligence to give New Yorkers the security they need and the justice they deserve,” Adams told the New York Post. The new police chief grew up in a hot spot region in a settlement with many public housing near the Queens Bridge. The crime rate has always been particularly high here.
In the election campaign for the post of city chief, Adams had called for the next mayor to be someone “who has been through a lot to help the people who have also been through a lot”. This also applies to the new police chief.
Murder rate rises 41 percent in the pandemic
The challenges that Sewell now faces cannot be overestimated. Like many other US cities, the homicide rate in the pandemic soared in New York. In the first pandemic year of 2020, 447 people were killed in New York, an increase of 41 percent.
Sewell knows about harsh crimes. Before being promoted, the 49-year-old worked as a policewoman in the Nassau Police Department on Long Island for 23 years. She specialized in drugs, mafia and hostage-taking. She was also part of the New York and New Jersey Terrorism Task Force. This know-how should now help her to cope with the difficult job.
In her inaugural address, the new boss already announced her style: “As the first woman and the third black person to lead the New York police in its 176-year history, I bring a new approach”. She appointed Edward Caban, a police officer of the Harlem district with Hispanic roots, who was just 30 years old, to be her deputy.
