 One of Booker 's first priorities was to reduce the city 's crime rate . In furtherance of this , he appointed Garry McCarthy , former deputy commissioner of operations of the New York City Police Department , as director of the Newark Police Department . Crime reduction was such a central concern to the Booker administration that Booker , along with his security team , was known to personally patrol the streets of Newark until as late as 4 a.m. 
