NYPD Capt. James Whitlock took the stage final month throughout Nationwide Night time Out Towards Crime in Harlem to reintroduce himself. He mirrored on drastic reductions in crime: fourth most improved all through the NYPD, he stated, crediting not solely his officers however the surrounding Harlem neighborhood.
For Whitlock, returning to Harlem because the twenty eighth Precinct’s Commanding Officer feels “surreal.” He grew up within the Grant Homes on a hundred and twenty fifth Avenue, simply three blocks from the police station. Now, 26 years deep within the NYPD (he’s cautious to level out how three of these years had been spent as a faculty security agent), Whitlock took command of the twenty eighth Precinct final summer time after spending most of his profession in investigative work. His earlier function within the Bronx tackled narcotics distribution and gang violence.
This yr, the NYPD reviews a roughly 25% lower in index crime within the twenty eighth Precinct, which covers a big space of Central Harlem together with the Apollo Theater, the primary a hundred and twenty fifth Avenue Hall and the Adam Clayton Powell State Workplace Constructing. In truth, each class decreased apart from homicide, which rose from 4 to 5 regardless of reductions in gun violence. Notably, grand larceny auto complaints — that are sometimes higher documented than different main crimes due to mandated insurance coverage reporting — plummeted from 46 final yr to simply 21 in 2025, a 54.3% year-to-date lower as of August.
So what’s working? Whitlock factors to combining elevated neighborhood involvement with police presence and enforcement to “implement a multi-layered method.” He delineated his calendar of talking to Manhattan Group Board 10 each first Wednesday, neighborhood council conferences each second Wednesday and public security and cupboard conferences each third Wednesday.
“We additionally focus on the identical number of points that’s plaguing the neighborhood,” stated Whitlock over the cellphone. “I feel that’s important, as a result of we hear it firsthand from the individuals…residing it. Crime is down [but] the notion could also be that they see lots of issues that we don’t see. We attempt to accommodate that and get these points out of the way in which. That’s why we’re fairly huge on high quality of points and complaints”
Whitlock additionally pointed to partnerships with native organizations just like the Central Park Conservancy and the a hundred and twenty fifth Enterprise Enchancment District, each members of the Harlem Gateway one hundred and tenth Avenue Coalition, a consortium of native teams and companies shaped to enhance components of Central Park North below the twenty eighth Precinct’s jurisdiction over wants like psychological well being interventions and cleanups for used needles and condoms.
Harlemite Shatic Mitchell, the Central Park Conservancy’s director of civic engagement, says he’s seen elevated patrols throughout one hundred and tenth Avenue below Whitlock as early as 6 a.m. However he additionally factors to the C.O.’s private efforts.
“I’ve seen how Captain Whitlock talks to individuals,” stated Mitchell. “He didn’t elevate his voice, obtained individuals to maneuver to the sidewalk, obtained individuals to cease double parking. I feel that as a result of he’s from the neighborhood, understands the neighborhood. I feel it’s invaluable to have any individual with that sort of management.”
Apostle Dr. Staci Ramos of Backyard of Gethsemane Ministries additionally remembers continuously seeing Whitlock and his fellow “whitshirts” commonly on the streets participating with the neighborhood. She credit the crime lower below the C.O. to his method of “unity” and “presence.”
“Whitlock and his workforce come out, proper?” she stated. “They’re going to be popping out quickly for the African American Day parade, however let’s simply discuss Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, all these different issues. When there’s parades on the street or strolling on the street and the streets are closed, they arrive out. He comes out and he acclimates himself with the blokes on the nook.”
As “High quality of Life” groups ramp up below NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Whitlock stays conscious that critics are involved that such items stem from “damaged home windows policing.” Even a proponent like Mitchell talked about the significance of not criminalizing psychological sickness and homelessness, and known as for getting “the precise responders there to evaluate the state of affairs after which assist individuals out,” which he believes the community-wide effort stays key for. Whitlock says enforcement doesn’t essentially imply a summons or arrest.
“We at all times use discretion after we see individuals on the road consuming — we simply must disperse it [and] we will’t have that habits,” stated Whitlock. “After I’m on the streets and I encounter that sort of downside, I at all times say, ‘hear, your leisure mustn’t infringe upon different individuals’s high quality of life.’ And most of the people perceive that and so they’ll simply pack up and go about their merry means.
“As a result of they perceive if you stand exterior at an unreasonable quantity it’s affecting the child that’s attempting to fall asleep and get up within the morning to go to high school.”
