The New York Police Department is sending increased resources to Central Park beginning Wednesday evening in response to a recent increase in robberies in the Manhattan refuge, which top authorities blamed on groups of young migrants.
Chief of Patrol John Chell stated at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that the NYPD will “deploy numerous resources throughout the days, throughout the weeks, until we solve this problem,” from mounted to bike patrol, foot patrol, street cars, drones, and transit police.”
The edict, which went into effect Wednesday evening, comes less than 24 hours after the mugging of two 20-year-old men at West 62nd and West Drive.
Robberies in the Central Park Precinct are up 200% as of August 11, and total major crimes are up 46% compared to the same period in 2023, according to the most recent NYPD data.
The increased presence of the NYPD in the park has encouraged the Central Park Conservancy, a spokesperson told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880. “We want New Yorkers and visitors to continue feeling safe and protected inside this beloved public space that the Conservancy cares for every day of the year.”
Chell reports that groups of 8 to 12 young boys frequently carry out the current robberies between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. The boys approach their victims in the park and forcefully grab whatever they can, including airpods and jewelry.
According to the Chief of Patrol, this pattern has seen 10 robberies, most of which occurred near the park.
“At this point in time, we’re ready to call this [a] migrant robbery pattern,” Chell said, referring to the arrest of an 11-year-old migrant youngster together with a 17-year-old earlier Wednesday morning for a transit robbery.
The same 11-year-old was caught on tape just a few days earlier using credit cards stolen during a Central Park crime.
“We think they’re responsible for most of them, if not all of them,” Chell indicated.
When asked about the deployment of autonomous drones in the park, Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard stated that they will arrive before the end of the month and will provide increased surveillance of the sprawling Manhattan Park.
“This park covers over 800 acres,” Sheppard remarked. “It’s going to allow us to cover a lot of territory very quickly, and it will also allow us to get images and video in places where we don’t have cameras.”
Chell informed ABC7 that the southern part of Central Park, where the majority of the crimes occurred, would receive an additional 40 police officers during peak nighttime hours.
Even if they are unable to prevent a crime from taking place, Chell stated at Wednesday’s news conference that the department has developed a “full-fledged apprehension plan.”
“If a robbery does happen and we don’t prevent it, we have areas that we think will be fruitful to respond to after the robbery, so it’s really an apprehension plan afterward,” the officer explained.
Sheppard emphasized that despite naming young migrants as suspects in these crimes, the deployment of additional resources will act as a crime deterrent and expect officers to behave lawfully.
“Everything we do revolves around proactive policing. However, we will do it legally,” Sheppard stated. “We’re not directing them to stop and question and frisk people randomly; what we’re asking them to do is be attentive, keep your eyes open, be on guard, and make sure that if something does happen, we’re ready to respond.”
