Removing masks aids cops
Adams defends call to have shoppers show face on video
Mayor Adams pushed back Tuesday on those criticizing his call for New York City store owners to demand patrons remove their masks upon entering their premises, saying detractors are just falling for the “hustle” of sticky-fingered criminals.
“What it does is it allows us to use the video surveillance and technology to identify the person faster. We’re solving these cases, because of the ways our detectives are doing that,” he said during a press conference at City Hall. “We do an analysis of these crimes. They’re repeated offenders — and by the time you catch that one person, they did seven other robberies. If we’re able to identify their face fast enough, we’re able to broadcast it on TV. We’re able to use our Crimestoppers.”
Adams’ defense came a day after he called on storeowners to tell patrons to remove their masks momentarily upon entering so that video surveillance could capture their likeness — a recommendation aimed at putting a dent in shoplifting and strong-arm robberies.
Adams didn’t entirely dismiss the fears of people who are immuno-compromised or who suffer from long COVID, though.
“If someone is immuno compromised and they believe that if I take my mask off for three seconds, that I may catch something, I gotta respect that,” he said, but added that not everyone is keeping it on because they have compromised immunity. “Don’t believe that hustle.”
Adams also contended that unmasking for seconds at a clip is safe, that the science is on his side and is based on recommendations from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention that are applied by airport security personnel with the Transportation Security Administration.
“I would not get on a plane at JFK if everyone could get on without them showing their faces so that the TSA and others will have a visual of it,” he said. “This is a responsible way to ensure that we deal with those who are wearing these masks because they are committing crimes.”
But the possibility for confrontations to occur when a store owner makes the mask removal ask remain, given the likelihood that when a patron refuses they might be up to no good. Adams suggested that storeowners don’t have to make the request themselves, but can rely on hanging a sign on the door that’s been approved by bodega owners and created by the city.
“The bodega association helped us create a sign that says, ‘Please, upon entering, remove your mask.’ And you can put it back on,” he said. “If you’re refusing to remove your mask, don’t confront the person. But now you’ll say, ‘Wait a minute, now let me pay attention to this person’ ... we got so used to the mask, that we don’t realize that there’s a large of volume of people that are wearing it, not because of COVID, but because they’re criminals.”