The New York Police Department has "ramped up" security in the city amid threats from the Islamic State (ISIS) and the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris, Commissioner Bill Bratton told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
In addition to increased protections for public buildings and structures, Bratton said police were also watching media locations, as well as communicating with "Jewish groups that we stay in touch with" and outreach "to some of the Muslim leadership that we deal with."
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"We're always on high alert here. We remain the No. 1 terrorist target in the world. But, in light of what just happened in Paris, some of the additional threats coming out of ISIS, we have ramped up the level of attention to the issue, advising our officers to be more vigilant," Bratton said Tuesday.
Bratton said the NYPD developed a "phenomenal operation" to combat terrorism in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that included thousands of officers and detectives, in addition to "24-hour-a-day S.W.A.T.-type resources moving through the city all the time."
He said there was "no city in the world that's better prepared to try to prevent, and if we were to have an event, to respond" to a terrorist threat.
"We have, fortunately, the size of our department, resources that other cities in this country are not able to apply to it, which is appropriate, because we are that No. 1 target," he said.
Bratton said the department was "coming out of the slowdown" following tense relations with Mayor Bill de Blasio because of criticisms he made about police tactics, adding the morale among police was something that "goes up and down."
"The good news is that the cops, in spite of the situation in terms of morale, are, in fact, still out there," he said. "That's the good news, getting back to more normal levels of activity, particularly at this point in time when we do have the heightened concerns around the issues of terrorism."
There was much taking place "behind the scenes" to mend the rift between de Blasio and the NYPD, he said, adding, it was a "negotiation process."
"There are a lot of frustrations, a lot of different things in the stew at the moment. I'm very comfortable that we're moving forward," he said.
Despite the problems, Bratton said crime "continues to go down," and 2014 showed a "record low year" for incidents in the city.
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