crisis. reporter: adams has beefed up police presence in the subways and wants to bring back a controversial plain clothes unit of well-trained officers to rein in violence and get illegal guns off the streets. the program, which ended in 2020, was involved in many of the city s most notorious police shootings. adams says this time will be different. i know how to do it right because i fought against what was being done wrong. reporter: he s also calling for greater accountability for police to help rebuild trust with the communities they serve. justice and public safety go together. reporter: he s already facing that balancing act between criminal justice reform and ensuring safety. his newly appointed police commissioner, the first woman to lead the nation s largest police force, raising serious concerns after the manhattan district attorney argued against prosecuting lesser crimes. i respect that the da must make the determination of prosecuting the right cases. my job i