NEW YORK - The New York City Police Department's top cop is putting a new focus on young people in 2020.

"At the police department we encounter some very troubled teens. And sometimes you have to ask yourself, how is it even possible that a young teen arrested has been arrested 20 times before. And I'm talking 16-year-olds," said NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea.

Commissioner Shea announced a new youth crime prevention strategy Wednesday that includes creating a new designation for some cops — youth coordination officer, or YCO. In this new role, officers will attempt to engage with young people who are at risk of going down a bad road in hopes of steering them away from trouble.

"We can identify these kids in the system early," said Shea. "We have the services. By and large we don't have to reinvent programs to reach and to engage young. But we have to connect the programs better than we did previously. With the kids that really need them."

Shea says every precinct in the city will have a YCO. And he says all of the city's 5,500 school safety officers who are not armed but work for the NYPD will be will be asked to share information about potential problems and help connect students with available resources.

"There are cops throughout the police department who will jump at the chance to work more effectively with young people," Shea said.

The new strategy also includes a monthly "YouthStat" meeting partnering city agencies with the YCOs to pinpoint issues and find new ways to keep young people across the city safe.

"It will allow us to measure in some manner crime prevention, to measure assists if you will. Keep people out of trouble. Crimes that did not happen. Lives that did not end. Families that were kept intact. Because young people were helped every step of the way," Shea said.

The NYPD says some of the new measures are already underway, but it does not have a date when the full program will be implemented.