Mayor Eric Adams and his new top cop, Edward Caban, made another historic appointment on Tuesday, tapping Rebecca Weiner as the Police Department’s first female Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism.
The announcement followed a string of top NYPD appointments, including Caban, who on Monday became the city’s first Hispanic police commissioner, and Tania Kinsella, who was tapped to be the first woman of color to hold the role of First Deputy Commissioner.
A 17-year veteran of the force, Weiner takes the role which has been left unfilled for over a year after former Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller retired last June. Mayor Adams called the civilian position “one of the most important” during the July 18 announcement at One Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan, since its holder is tasked with combating and preventing terror attacks in the Big Apple.
“The incoming deputy commissioner is an impressive and experienced intelligence analyst who has spent 17 years with the New York City Police Department during which she has held nearly every civilian title in her field,” he said. “As the city continues to fight domestic and international terrorism, I am proud to join the police commissioner in appointing Rebecca Weiner.”
According to Adams, Weiner came highly recommended by former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who made a rare appearance to champion the appointment. Bratton called Weiner essential to saving lives, and said she is a person with a keen eye for small details.
Weiner is a Harvard-educated attorney with a long lineage in the defense of American soil; her grandfather worked on the construction of the hydrogen bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. Adams said this “jumped off the page” when reading her resume. The city’s new top cop, Caban, agreed, adding that her family helped end World War II.
“Protecting the homeland is part of her DNA,” Commissioner Caban said. “Rebecca is the right person for the job. Her experience, her care, make her an obvious choice.”
Weiner first joined the NYPD in 2006, overseeing the department’s Counterterrorism Operations and Analysis Section. In that role, she helped develop an internationally recognized intelligence and threat-analysis program, and gained a vast knowledge on domestic terrorism, as well as threats beyond the U.S. border.
Most recently, Weiner became the civilian executive in charge of the NYPD’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau. There, she oversaw investigative, analytical, operational, and engagement efforts across the domains of counterterrorism, counterintelligence, criminal intelligence, violence mitigation, infrastructure and event protection.
Weiner was sworn in with the help of her two young sons, Xavier and Damian, who both held the Bible on which she placed her hand.
“I’m a firm believer in the power of intelligence leveraging technology harnessing knowledge to ensure safety and to save lives, to solve crimes and also to prevent them,” Weiner said.
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