Don't trust the cops? Call the "peace" patrol.
A Muslim preacher in The Bronx is behind the Community Peace Patrol Officers — a neighborhood-watch group that helps teenagers who don't want to listen to police.
"There are lots of times where kids don't like law enforcement because they were born and raised in a situation where [police] are their enemies," said Sheikh Moussa Drammeh.
Since his patrol doesn't wear NYPD badges, the imam says, neighborhood kids "are more inclined to listen to us and to talk to us."
"The kids know us, and they can relate to our background," he said. "Law enforcement cannot do it. By the time [police] come to them, it's to enforce the law . . . You cannot build a cordial relationship."
The imam's crew is part of a number of citizen patrols launching citywide. Some private groups — including Sunset Park's Brooklyn Asian Safety Patrol — are sanctioned by the NYPD and even have their own patrol cars.
Drammeh launched his 11-member group to improve community relations with cops and to stop crime before it starts. It is based out of his mosque, Masjid Al-Iman, in an Islamic enclave of Parkchester.
While the Peace Patrol has no official NYPD standing, Drammeh hopes to get its blessing. The activist preacher also wants to procure his own fleet of patrol cars and for volunteers to do twice-monthly shifts. Currently, they patrol on foot.
For the last few years, Drammeh, 52, has handed out fliers with his phone number at nearby subway stations and housing projects. Many people in need have called him.
A husband and wife entered his mosque and cultural center on Westchester Avenue two months ago seeking help for the wife's suicidal thoughts, Drammeh said. He referred them to the city's Family Justice Center.
Meanwhile, a girl who was being abused by a family member called Drammeh for help instead of police. The imam said he also recently assisted a 19-year-old who had three kids and wanted to leave a street gang.
"I would venture to say over 80 percent of so-called criminals are not criminals," he said. "They are individuals who needed help, and no one was there to help them."
Drammeh, a Senegalese immigrant, made headlines in 2012 after brokering his own version of Middle East peace — bringing a synagogue to his mosque's two-story building.
But a year later, the headlines were accusatory. Drammeh allegedly stiffed an 84-year-old grandmother on a $52,000 loan that was supposed to be used for a new day-care center. Drammeh declined to comment on whether the center was built.
The Peace Patrol is his next passion project.
"For [Police] Commissioner [Bill] Bratton to be successful, he needs to have different voices," Drammeh said.
"There needs to be a third party in the room. That's what we provide. We are for a peaceful New York."
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