Jewish Community Calls On NYPD To Go Back To Old-School Police Tactics To Stop Anti-Semitic Attacks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – After a dramatic increase in violate hate crimes, members of the Jewish community call for immediate action.
Some people want police to consider tactics not seen since the 1980s and 90s.
Another day and the surfacing of another disturbing video from the night before Christmas in Crown Heights.
Cameras caught one of several young male suspects throwing a chair, hitting a 23-year-old victim in the head.
"They hit him right here right outside," Mendel Levin said.
Levin's real estate business is where the video is from for incident number ten in New York City with a victim, visibly Jewish.
Disgust and fear grow with each attack.
"You've got to catch them," Levin added.
MORE: NYPD Investigating 9th Anti-Semitic Attack Reported This Week
Some in New York City's Jewish communities want the NYPD to broaden the now rare practice of dressing up and going undercover as decoys.
CBS2 put out a request to the NYPD, asking why these attacks have not sparked a return of those practices that were well publicized in the 70s and 80s – but virtually unheard of now.
CBS2 did not get an answer.
Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York wonders at this tipping point, why not?
"I think having decoy policeman dressed as Hasidic Jews is reasonable thing to do given the current circumstance," Goldstein said.
Around Brooklyn, people say they need much more security many more police patrols with federal assistance and also many more of these.
"They need to do more to address this current challenge," Goldstein added.
Goldstein says the boosted patrols are not enough as a deterrent.
He noted the case of Tiffany Harris, a 35-year-old in Brooklyn who allegedly attacked three Jewish women in Crown Heights Thursday, went to jail then was released only to allegedly assault another woman in Prospect Heights the very next day.
"We need to not let people back on the street who can cause further damage," Goldstein told CBS2's Dave Carlin.
Significant percentages of those arrested in anti-Semitic hate crime attacks are juveniles and others have diagnosable psychiatric problems. So he says a key is not setting them free with weakened laws or because of technicalities.
"Protect us" now becomes an ever louder plea – to city, state, and federal officials – with much more than just words.
