As shootings continue to decline across the city, newly minted NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella sat down with amNewYork Metro last week to discuss the Big Apple’s latest crime statistics.
First Deputy Commissioner Kinsella took a seat at a conference table inside police headquarters with a printout of the citywide crime statistics for July 2023. Pouring over the numbers, Kinsella looked up with a level of excitement and passion not seen in many professions. Kinsella, the first Black female to hold the position, appeared energetic and proud — she represents a new generation in the NYPD, a changing of the old guard who is looking to reinvent crime fighting strategies. When asked about her demeanor, she replied that she feels a sense of admiration for working in the community she grew up in.
“I love the job. I love working with the community. I love working with the cops, I love making a difference in their lives,” Kinsella told amNewYork Metro. “My community is the five boroughs. We all have an invested interest in the safety of our great city. And I want to make sure that under Commissioner Caban’s leadership that we put together a really good team that is eager.”
For Kinsella, that also means working to drive down crime — and according to the July 2023 crime report, that is exactly what is happening. The city saw a 35.4% drop in shooting incidents compared to July of last year while shootings appeared to drop 26.5% over the course of the first seven months of this year, resulting in 274 fewer people having been shot.
“It’s coordinated, proactive teamwork. We have so many wonderful cops that work for us, so many different units like our critical response teams and our neighborhood safety teams, taking illegal guns off the streets,” Kinsella said. “But again, one shooting is too much. So, we’re not going to stop until there are zero shootings.”
Homicides also fell in July by a whopping 35.3%, something Kinsella credits to the department performing a “deep dive” into each case. The first deputy commissioner stated that investigators refuse to see each victim as only just a number. However, despite all the strides the police department has made, public perception continues to fear crime as though it is climbing rather than decreasing.
“Numbers don’t lie. And number two, we want to look beyond the numbers. We don’t like the perception but the realization is that the city is, under the mayor’s and Commissioner Caban’s leadership, becoming safer,” Kinsella said. “That’s the realization, solving crime, making sure that a victim doesn’t feel like we don’t care and they’re just a number because we don’t want a victim to feel like they’re just numbers. We want to make sure that A. the person who did it is brought to justice, and B. that it never happens again.”
Like Commissioner Keechant Sewell before her, Kinsella understands that she is being held to a higher standard than most and as a representation of the Black and Brown community within the department. With this in mind, she told amNewYork Metro she’s looking to build upon what Sewell left behind while also ensuring that she is not the last to hold such a high-ranking position.
She also hopes to continue to work with all New Yorkers to drive crime down across the five boroughs.
“I look forward to continuing to work together with New York City, the community, the cops, and bring crime down further and make New York City safer because it’s becoming safer,” Kinsella said.
