Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and President of the Bodega Association of the United States Jose Fernandez announced Operation Safe Store to combat concerns about robberies committed against bodegas.  The program, announced in front of Family Grocery in the Bronx, will outfit bodegas in targeted precincts across the City with cameras and video recorders and panic alarms linked to the City’s 9-1-1 system.

“Operation Safe Store is an excellent example of the NYPD and the community working together to make New York safe,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “Bodega owners approached the NYPD with a problem, and Commissioner Kelly and his staff sat down and worked with the Bodega owners on a plan that uses inexpensive technology to create an extra layer of protection against the threat of violent crime.  Those who seek to victimize our bodegas will now find themselves on camera and special 9-1-1 panic buttons will summon the NYPD discreetly and quickly, meaning less robberies, more arrests, and safer streets.”

“Deterrence is the name of the game and this pilot project provides the necessary the tools to achieve it,” said Commissioner Kelly.  “I am pleased the NYPD and the bodegas are working together to make our City safer.  By improving the security systems at bodegas across the city, we will prevent crimes and restore a sense of safety to the employees and customers of these businesses.”

“We are extremely pleased that Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly has responded so quickly and substantively to the security problems at the City’s bodegas,” said Mr. Fernandez. “Storeowners felt besieged and helpless and the administration’s quick response has renewed our faith in the responsiveness of City government.”

The NYPD conducted an analysis of bodega robberies and found that 33.4% of all bodega robberies and 45 % of gunpoint robberies occurred in ten police precincts: Manhattan, 32nd; Bronx, 52nd; Queens 102nd, 105th and 114th; Brooklyn 67th 73rd 75th 77th and 79th.  To combat these robberies, NYPD technicians are surveying locations to identify one bodega in each of the ten precincts to participate in the pilot project.  As part of the program, the NYPD will install a camera, monitor, video recorder, and 9-1-1-linked panic alarm. The video recorder will be locked and hidden from view to make it difficult for robbers to locate and confiscate or destroy tapes.

Each bodega being equipped by the NYPD will have a tailored response plan for when an alarm is sounded. In addition to responding to the location itself, police will respond to pre-determined transit facilities and potential escape routes. Police will also be searching the vicinity of the bodega, grid-by-grid, under the plan. NYPD crime prevention officers will be holding crime prevention seminars for bodega owner/operators, NYPD crime prevention officers will visit bodegas citywide, and conduct crime prevention surveys for interested bodega owners. Lastly, the NYPD will post new Gun Stop and other reward posters in English and Spanish in bodegas.

The NYPD’s Technical Assistance and Response Unit (TARU) will install and maintain the ten pilot video systems installed in the bodegas.  The video system is easy to operate and maintain and will cost approximately $1,000 per unit to install. At the conclusion of the pilot, the program can be expanded Citywide with funding provided through a foundation being established expressly for the purpose of improving bodega safety.  Council Majority Leader Joel Rivera has committed City Council resources to assist the program.