U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the New York Police Department has developed “some of the best” policing techniques ever and should be studied, just days after the Justice Department chastised New York City for a “soft on crime” stance.

The Republican Sessions said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the Justice Department statement was in reference to the city’s so-called sanctuary city policy that limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities, but praised the city’s law enforcement for efforts to make the city safer.

City officials had strongly criticized the statement, with NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill saying that it was “absolutely ludicrous” and noting that violent crime is continuing to fall and the number of shootings last year was the lowest since records began being kept.

(AP)