New York to install hundreds of panic buttons to tackle the crime

The New York officials announced the plans to install hundreds of panic buttons in Bodegas on Sunday in order to tackle ongoing crime.

Why is it important

The announcement takes place according to a number of recent violent incidents, some fatal in Bodegas in the city's five districts.

On Saturday, a 33-year-old man was fatally stabbed in a Bodega in Harlem several times.

In another incident last month, a group of suspects, who were disguised like NYPD officers, stormed into a shop in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, the workers rushed up and robbed them.

And in March a 24-year-old Harlem Bodega worker was stung in the neck with a knife during an attempted robbery.

What to know?

Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday during a press conference in front of a deli in the Bronx that the city will invest 1.6 million US dollars to install up to 500 panic buttons in hundreds of Bodegas after they have a number of recent violent incidents against them.

The devices manufacture directly to the Central Command Center of the NYPD and bypass traditional 911 dispatchers to shorten the response times, explained Adams.

The mayor added that they are installed in the shops in “Hotspot” police areas. The Bodegas that receive the buttons installed by the Silentshield company will not be announced to the public.

The United Bodegas of America (UBA) have applied for financing with the financing of panic buttons. The first call came when the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, presented the idea a year ago.

This is not the first time that panic keys were installed in Bodegas. A pilot program launched in June and Saferwatch had installed 50 panic buttons in Bodegas with high crime, but critics found inconsistent response times due to poor integration with the police New York Post reported.

What people say

The Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, said: “Instead of just keeping the rats away, we will have a direct connection to the police to keep the dangerous cats who try to rob our business.

He added: “The Bodegas are important, and what this will do is add an additional security level. Number one for those who actually have the panic buttons and the direct communication of the police. But secondly, the element of the surprise – 500 of these devices in the entire city.”

The NYPD department head John Chell said at the Sunday press conference: “Apart from the fact that the workers in the service are calmed down, it is also an instrument for crime prevention.

The spokesman for United Bodegas of America, Fernando Mateo, said on Sunday: “Panic buttons is what will save so much life. Not only the life of Bodega owners and workers; the life of so many who have come into a bodega that was looking for safe care, and they were killed.”

What happens next?

The buttons will be installed in the coming weeks and distributed to the UBA via a emergency shot.