warn-of-illegal-sale-of-marijuana-baked-goods-in-nyc-storesWarn of illegal sale of marijuana baked goods in NYC stores

Crime in the Big Apple continues to decline, according to data managed by the NYPD, which reveal that so far in 2023, most crimes have shown a downward trend, but the trade in illegal marijuana products in Hundreds of stores that operate without a sales license or regulations, has the authorities on alert.

This was revealed by the Chief of Operations of the New York City Office of Public Safety, Justin S. Meyers, during the report that the Adams Administration offered to the public last week, where he highlighted that crime rates have decreased between 1% and almost 10% in certain crimes and that 65 areas of the city have been identified in which the greatest number of crimes are committed, which has made it possible to deploy a greater police presence, especially between 5:30 in the afternoon and 4:00 in the morning.

“Statistics show that crime is down compared to 2022. We see reductions in five of the top seven categories, including murder, which is down 7.9%, rape, 9.9%, general burglaries, 4.8%, property burglaries , 9.9%, and major thefts, 1.3%,” said the official, while acknowledging the increase in assaults and personal injuries, as well as vehicle theft, which grew by 18%, mostly with Kia and Honda cars. , models from 2011 to 2021.

Referring to the illegal sale of marijuana products, the Chief of Operations of the Office of Public Safety reiterated that although the use of cannabis for recreational purposes by adults is allowed in the Big Apple, it is only safe to buy it in stores that they have a license, that is, only 9 of the more than 1,500 that are estimated to exist in the five counties, which despite operating publicly, do not have a permit or are regulated.

“Cannabis is legal, buy it and use it in the city and in the state of New York, but the sale in irregular places is not allowed and its products can cause harm,” said the official, who nevertheless reiterated that marijuana is not a trigger for crimes, but that selling it without a license is a crime, like the sale that some sites have been making of cupcakes with unknown substances.

Regarding this type of trade that has been discovered in illegal locations, the New York Sheriff, Anthony Miranda, who has led a strong offensive against stores without sales permits, revealed that two stores were intervened this week, after complaints from the community .

“These are unregulated products. It is not certain how much product these cupcakes contain, so there are certain risks to the health of the community. The same thing happens with these illegal shops. They are a risk to the health of our community because they are not regulated,” said the uniformed man. “We don’t know what goes into them or how much product is sold in them. So we don’t know what the impact will be when people use the product.”

The sheriff called on New Yorkers to report any illegal marijuana shops and dangerous marijuana-infused products. “The safety of our communities is paramount…our efforts continue and complaints from communities continue to be important to further investigations.”

The Sheriff’s Office assures that the actions carried out against the stores that sell illegal cannabis have left more than $22 million dollars in civil penalties against locals and
$12 million in seized products.

On the other hand, the Head of Information Technology of the NYPD, Rubén Beltrán, assured that for the current Administration, the use of technological tools, such as the robot dogs that were announced to be used in subway stations such as Times Square, and the tasks that advance more than 2,200 employees in tech and that operate on lines such as 911, are a priority to combat crime.

“We have our Strategic Technology division. That’s where a lot of our research comes in, and that’s where we support what we call our most strategic platforms in the Police Department, our most strategic technologies that help us fight crime, reduce crime, keep police officers safe, keep our community safe and help us fight terrorism,” said the Latino police officer.

“We also have our Information Security group working hand in hand with Cyber ​​Command and the city to make sure that we keep information within the NYPD secure and to make sure that we keep our systems operational and available so that we can continue to respond. So, in terms of our strategic technology work and what we do there, our most important and, I guess, most prolific system that we use to maintain security and protect the assets of New York City residents and businesses is our security system. domain recognition”, added Beltrán.

The uniformed man added that another of the initiatives that has been implemented in order to fight crime is the analysis of reports received on lines 311 and 911, which are taken as indicators that more serious crimes could occur.

“So recently, working on our crime control strategies with our department head and patrol chief’s office, and working with the deputy mayor’s office, we created a 311 aggregation application. And that gives us the ability to understand: “Hey, what’s come in recently from 311? What is coming in now? Where are those calls located?” Beltrán said.

“And sometimes these calls are very close to the police station boundaries, and sometimes we have three or four different police stations that actually touch an intersection and sometimes we don’t get the full picture, maybe one police station has two calls, one has three calls. , one has a call. But when you add all that up, we’ve got seven calls in the last three to four hours, and those types of calls give us more visibility and awareness about what’s going on in that community,” he added.

By Scribe