The look of Mayor Eric Adams’ new NYPD Neighborhood Safety Teams will stand in stark contrast to its plainclothes predecessor — the controversial anti-crime unit, according to photos of the approved uniforms in a police memo obtained by The New York Post.
Cops in the units will wear navy blue tactical pants, black boots or shoes with a polo shirt, quarter-zip sweatshirt or Neighborhood Safety vest that has NYPD clearly written on the back and front, along with patches bearing the officer’s name, shield, rank and command, according to the memo.
The NYPD has released new images of the anti-gun squad’s new uniform despite continued delays in the actual deployment of the squad.
Officers assigned to the old anti-crime unit, which was disbanded in 2020, wore street clothes and were only identifiable as police by the badge hanging around their necks or on their belts.
Police sources have said those plainclothes units were necessary to get the drop on people with guns because they blended in with the public. Police reform advocates, however, say those street clothes — as well as the unit’s aggressive tactics — often escalated situations because gunmen were confused as to whether they were cops or rivals.
