Undercover New York City police officers will begin serving as decoys in an attempt to prevent hate crimes from happening. “We’ll be using police officers in plainclothes and in teams to prevent New Yorkers from becoming victims in the first place. And I’ll say this so the message is very clear to everyone. The next person you target whether it’s through speech, menacing activity, or anything else walking along a sidewalk or on a train platform may be a plainclothes New York City police officer. So think twice,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said during a press conference. Officials declined to say how many undercover officers will be used as decoys. Rodney Harrison, the department chief, said there’s a “robust team” of undercover officers. “They’ll be trained right away and we’ll get them out there as quickly as possible,” he said. Hate crimes against Asian-Americans have risen in the city in …