BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Officers in one Brooklyn precinct will focus on security in houses of worship and strengthening relationships with clergy members as part of a new NYPD pilot program.
The “Houses of Worship Security Forum and Community Partnership” program rolls out this spring in Bedford-Stuyvesant’s 79th Precinct, with the NYPD working with religious leaders through resources such as active shooter classes and safety presentations, Deputy Inspector John Chell announced Thursday.
“The big part of the security issue here is, how can you best defend yourself? Knowledge is power,” Chell told local clergy members and officers at Elim International Fellowship.
“It’s also more of an enhancement program. We already have great relationships with our houses of worship, we want to make them better, stronger.”
As part of the initiative, each church or house of worship within the 79th Precinct will take a security survey, the commanding officer said.
The precinct’s clergy council, which meets once a month, is also looking to strengthen its membership, according to organizers.
In addition to the council’s meetings, the precinct is aiming to host larger-scale gatherings twice a year that include officers and representatives from all houses of worship, where they’ll discuss issues in the community and encourage dialogue, Chell added.
The enhanced community outreach efforts stem from the NYPD’s engagement initiatives where precinct commanders have been visiting their neighborhood’s religious centers, according to Community Affairs Bureau Chief Joanne Jaffe.
Amid recent “tremendous issues” across the country related to race, police relations, and the “perception of police legitimacy,” the NYPD has worked to “rebuild relationships” and create new ones throughout communities, Jaffe said.
“So one of the first places we go, not the only place, is to our clergy leaders. And the clergy people, regardless of faith, are leaders in the communities because you represent hundreds, sometimes thousands of people,” she said.
“You’re building a relationship and you’re learning about the the police department because we’re providing you with presentations. But more importantly we need to hear from you. The power is not only in the relationship, it’s in the conversation.”
The 79th Precinct, which spans from Classon to Lewis avenues and Flushing to Atlantic avenues, was chosen for the pilot program partly due to its abundance of religious centers, with more than 100 houses of worship, according to Chell.
Presenters at Thursday’s police and clergy breakfast discussed working with clergy to develop dialogue with gang members as part of the NYPD’s CeaseFire program, outreach to church members to encourage information sharing when crimes occur, and issues of hate crime.
Another focus was active shooter classes available for houses of worship, following the June 2015 shooting at a South Carolina church that killed nine people, officials said.
An ongoing back-and-forth between the neighborhood’s religious leaders and police will be at the forefront of the program, according to Chell, with continuous information sharing on concerns, youth events, and other outreach such as police recruiting from the community.
Thursday’s announcement coincides with the NYPD’s community policing program, which is set to come to the 79th Precinct in June.
“I hope that we will accept the challenge that’s been offered, that we take advantage of this opportunity to do our part, to be accountable. Because policing is not just what the officers are doing in the street and what you all are doing, it’s also what we do as well,” said Rev. Emma Jordan-Simpson of Concord Baptist Church.
“These are incredibly tense times and what we’re doing here today, I think is going to go a long way in us changing how we’re able to work together in the future. This forum is the right step in the right direction.”
