Former U.S. president Donald Trump visited a convenience store in Harlem on Tuesday (U.S. time) to speak to workers and officials about New York City's crime situation.

His trip to the neighborhood is his first campaign stop since his hush money trial began. Trump once more denied any wrongdoing.

In Harlem, he visited a store that became the site of a stabbing incident in 2022.

Trump railed against the city's crime situation, and against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges against him.

The New York Police Department in a statistics report noted an increase in robberies and assaults in the city in the past three months.

"You have to be a true New Yorker now," said Filipino-American Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective. "You have to be super alert, super vigilant, and just be aware of any kind of criminality that's afoot that might occur in your presence or your travels.”

Alcazar, who worked at the NYPD for more than 30 years, said he has seen what works when it comes to tackling crime.  

“The key is to address crime while it's small before it becomes a bigger problem," he said. "This means we have to address quality of life issues."

"If you see peddlers on the street, you have to summon them. When we don't address them, it just emboldens the criminals," he added. "When they see that the police are neglecting smaller violations, they graduate to bigger crimes."

There have been some efforts to ease worries among the city’s eight million population - including getting help from the state.  

Governor Kathy Hochul last month deployed hundreds of National Guard members and state police officers to help patrol the subway systems.

Overall crime, according to the NYPD, dropped five percent in March compared to the same time last year.

Murder and shooting incidents are also down 17 and 18 percent, respectively.

Trump said his visit to the store was to show his commitment to keeping law and order in the city.

“We’re going to work with the Mayor, we’re going to work with the Governor," he said. "I’ll work with Democrats, we have to straighten out New York.”