The New York Police Department (NYPD) recently announced plans to expand its International Liaison Program in an effort to combat global criminal activities such as drug trafficking that are impacting the city.
This expansion, announced by Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner at the annual State of the NYPD breakfast in Midtown, involves deploying detectives to Tucson, Arizona, and Bogotá, Colombia. With these new outposts, the NYPD now boasts a presence in 18 cities worldwide, including London, Paris and Madrid, where detectives collaborate closely with local authorities.
The overarching aim, Weiner says, is to ensure the swift dissemination of accurate information to the NYPD, particularly when events elsewhere could impact New York City directly.
In her speech, Weiner highlighted an instance on October 7 when a detective stationed in Tel Aviv provided real-time updates about a Hamas terror attack in Israel, underscoring the importance of having eyes and ears on the ground.
Speaking on the rationale behind these deployments, Weiner noted the challenges arising from the southern border, including the influx of fentanyl, the presence of transnational criminal organizations and the ongoing migrant crisis.
“We’re not going to wait for the problems to come to us,” Weiner declared.
According to Weiner, the detective stationed in Bogotá will concentrate on migration and drug trafficking issues, while their counterpart in Tucson will collaborate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, focusing on fentanyl searches and transnational criminal activities with potential ties to New York City.
Funding for international assignments is covered by the nonprofit Police Foundation, while the detectives’ salaries remain the responsibility of the NYPD.
During the State of the NYPD gathering, Police Commissioner Edward Caban spoke on the importance of the International Liaison Program, noting that these additional posts would enhance the NYPD’s ability to address challenges such as the flow of drugs and guns across the southern border bound for New York City.
The International Liaison Program will play a pivotal role in ensuring the city’s security, enabling real-time responses to global events that could impact New York City, officials stated.
“Without the International Liaison Program, the NYPD would be myopic, resigned to policing the most global and interconnected city in the world without truly seeing beyond our borders,” Weiner concluded in her address.
