The Islamic State threat, says Bratton, “has expanded significantly in the now 16 months I’ve been police commissioner.” He also says: “The significantly increased threat from ISIS using social media to recruit people not only to go to Syria to fight, but encouraging people … to attack police, to attack government officials, to basically brainwash them under their screwed-up ideology.” He doesn’t explain why this “screwed-up ideology” is so appealing to so many young Muslims.
“Police Commissioner Bratton Requests 450 More Officers To Fight Terrorism,” by Suzanne Vega, JP Updates, May 17, 2015 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):
As the fear over the threat of terrorism continues to swell around the world, New York City becomes increasingly on edge that it’s time to take extra security precautions.
Although we have not experienced the caliber such as the attacks in Paris, we have a history of being a major target and ISIS has already begun to infiltrate young minds through the use of video games and social media.
Since the New Year there have been numerous arrests in Brooklyn and Queens for people attempting to assist ISIS from afar, building homemade bombs and laying out plans of attack.
On the John Catsimatidis show, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton discussed these very issues and how he wishes to combat the Islamic extremist threat, calling for the addition of at least 450 new police officers to the force.
Bratton said, “We need to be very concerned about terrorism … The significantly increased threat from ISIS using social media to recruit people not only to go to Syria to fight, but encouraging people … to attack police, to attack government officials, to basically brainwash them under their screwed-up ideology. That threat has expanded significantly in the now 16 months I’ve been police commissioner.”
“We’re treating that threat so seriously, I’m going to put another 450 police officers – if we get the approval to increase the size of the police force – and I need to do it very very quickly – into our counterterrorism operations to increase the ability of our officers to protect critical sites around the city. Or, if we were to have an incident, so I’d have a lot more officers in the streets with the appropriate equipment to deal with active shooters or hostage situations.
“We are entering a new era where we cannot live in fear, but we have to live increasingly aware of our surroundings … This crazy hijacking of the Muslim religion by these fanatics, twisting it into an ideology that’s all about hate and murder and killing.” Bratton added.
Recently New York Mayor Bill de Blasio released a budget to increase resources for the NYPD, but he did not include any funding for additional police officers. The City Council has requested 1,000 new officers from the mayor, while Bratton has settled on a modest 450. Therefore, it seems Bratton and de Blasio will have to meet somewhere in the middle….