PROFILE: NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea

Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea is laser-focused on continuing to improve the city where he was born and raised. He grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, in a fourth-floor walkup. It was a tight-knit community with a strong work ethic. His father was a union handyman. His mother was a stay-at-home mom. Chief Shea said his parents came from Ireland. They raised four kids in a one-bedroom apartment until their fifth child arrived and they moved. He joined the NYPD in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become the new chief of detectives last week. One of his brothers is the head of the police department in Jersey City. The other brother is in the U.S. Army. Chief Shea oversees about 6,000 people in the NYPD's Detective Bureau. As the chief of detectives, he is a strong proponent of community policing, which is assigning officers to the same neighborhoods every day to establish relationships within the community. Another crime-fighting tool is social media. Chief Shea wants to expand the use of the NYPD's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts as a way of reaching and communicating with New Yorkers, especially with the youth. The department's special victims sex crimes unit was recently criticized for being understaffed. Since then, more officers have been assigned to the unit. Chief Shea said he would look at where more resources might be needed and would be willing to ask the commissioner for the support. Chief Shea said the NYPD saw an increase in the number of women reporting sexual assaults and rapes after the accusations against Bill Cosby first surfaced and then again last year when the #MeToo movement emerged. One of those coming forward was an actress who accused former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her seven years ago. More than 50 women have accused Weinstein of either sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape. The NYPD opened an investigation. Chief Shea said the department is working closely with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office on the Weinstein case, but that is all he could say. Overall, the city's crime rate is at an all-time low. Chief Shea said he is concentrating on innovative ways to drive down crime even more. He said the NYPD will build on the legacy of its accomplishments. --LINDA SCHMIDT