NYPD's new gun crimes teams, created to replace embattled plainclothes unit, make 31 arrests in first 6 days

Officers with the New York City Police Department’s Neighborhood Safety Teams – launched to replace the embattled Anti-Crime Unit disbanded last year – have made 31 arrests and taken 10 illegal guns off the Big Apple streets in the six days since they started, officials announced Monday. 

"Our courageous and dedicated NYPD officers are doing exactly what we asked them to do right out of the gate," Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a Monday press conference. "They're going after and finding the relatively small number of criminals in our city who are responsible for the vast amount of violence in this city."

Of the 31 people arrested since then, 61% have previous criminal histories, with most being for "major felonies," Sewell said. An estimated 39% of those arrested individuals have a history of narcotics arrests, 26% some gang affiliation and 23% were either on probation or parole, she said.