New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is pushing a bold safety reform: replacing some police responses with social workers and mental-health professionals dispatched through 911. This vision centers on his proposed $1.1 billion Department of Community Safety (DCS).
However, skepticism is growing after an audit of the pilot program behind his plan — known as B-HEARD — revealed significant shortcomings. The program, active since 2021, only operates in select NYC neighborhoods, and the audit found that 60% of calls were deemed ineligible for B-HEARD intervention.
Even more troubling: over 35% of calls that were eligible never received a response.
Between fiscal years 2022 and 2024, B-HEARD logged 96,291 calls, but only 24,071 of them (around 25%) resulted in actual dispatch by a B-HEARD team — a group made up of two FDNY EMTs or officers and one social worker.
Mamdani argues that the program’s mission aligns with his public-health approach: prevent violence before it happens by addressing crisis situations with trained non-police responders.
He proposes scaling B-HEARD citywide — increasing its funding by 150% — and integrating it into his new DCS, potentially putting multiple teams in each neighborhood.
Yet critics are vocal. Some law-enforcement veterans warn that social workers may be ill-equipped for volatile 911 calls, especially domestic violence or other dangerous situations.
Others argue that launching an entirely new city department, instead of fixing existing problems, could be bureaucratically risky.
City Hall, however, defends the pilot’s performance. A spokesperson described the audit as overly harsh, saying the report unfairly blames a still-small pilot for broader system issues.
Key Takeaways:
- Mamdani wants to use B-HEARD teams — social workers + EMTs — for non-violent 911 calls.
- The audit shows serious gaps: many calls rejected or left unanswered.
- His proposal would massively scale up this model through a new Department of Community Safety.
- Critics question whether unarmed professionals are appropriate first responders in certain calls.
- Supporters argue the issue is mismanagement, not the concept itself.
Conclusion:
Mamdani’s plan represents a radical rethinking of public safety, but early data from the pilot program raises real concerns about its viability at scale. Whether the Department of Community Safety will deliver on its promise remains uncertain — and the debate over responsibility, risk, and reform is only just beginning.
