Outgoing NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill is not the only person who lies awake at night mulling criminal justice reform.
His newly appointed successor, Dermot Shea, said Tuesday that he and other department brass worry that soft-on-crime changes such as bail reform will undermine cops’ efforts to keep New York safe.
“At the highest ranks of this department … this is what we worry about on a day-to-day basis,” Shea told “Good Day New York” on WNYW/Channel 5.
“Not just reform, ’cause we are for reform,” said Shea, the chief of detectives until Dec. 1 when he’ll formally succeed O’Neill. “We are worried about keeping people safe.”
Shea was referring to a law taking effect Jan. 1 that eliminates cash bail for suspects in low-level and nonviolent crimes, part of a series of recent initiatives out of Albany and City Hall that cops have said complicate their jobs.
In the weeks before the Monday announcement of his resignation, O’Neill — who is leaving to take a private-sector gig in California — had been heard repeatedly warning others in law enforcement that “It’s only going to get worse” under the changes, police sources have told The Post.
Shea said Tuesday that he’ll double down on his predecessor’s neighborhood policing focus, which prioritizes the relationship between cops and their communities: “Neighborhood policing, making those connections even tighter, it’s the right way to go.”
And he said on WPIX/Channel 11 that recent anti-cop protests aren’t reflective of how most New Yorkers feel.
“That’s what makes the news sometimes,” he said. “But when … you talk to the people … the overall sentiment is extremely positive for the relationship between the police and the community.”
Meanwhile on Tuesday, more details emerged about Mayor Bill de Blasio’s hunt for the third top cop of his tenure.
First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker interviewed for the job, but did not receive an offer, sources said.
The snub marks the second time he has been passed over for the position, they said. He was in the running to succeed Bill Bratton in 2016 before O’Neill got the nod.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona and Aaron Feis