A day after a gunman opened fire inside a Bronx police precinct, questions have surfaced about how safe precincts really are.

Retired NYPD Detective Carlton Berkely says officers have been requesting precincts to have metal detectors like at 1 Police Plaza for years. After the recent shooting, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea says the NYPD will move forward by strengthening the precinct's safety procedures if necessary.

"We have to protect our officers in blue and the civilians that work in the precincts but we also want an engaging atmosphere where people engage. People come into our precincts literally every day throughout the day," said Shea.

Detective Berkely tells News 12 each precinct is supposed to have a patrolman posted outside on lookout. A source also tells News 12 that it is not always the case because resources are stretched thin.

MORE: Gunman charged in 2 'assassination attempts' on NYPD officers in the Bronx

On two separate occasions last year, knife-wielding men entered the Bronx's 40th Precinct and were arrested. The NYPD took action after detectives Weijan Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot and killed in a Brooklyn patrol car in 2014 by fitting cruisers with bulletproof glass.

In 2017, the NYPD moved to do the same with its mobile command units after Detective Miosotis Familia was assassinated.