But the program has been criticized for contributing to the huge increase in recorded stop-and-frisk encounters of mostly minority men in those same neighborhoods. In June, over six months before taking over the department, Mr. Bratton said that the surge in street stops — and the controversy surrounding them that led to the litigation and increased oversight for the department — had been an “unintended consequence of Operation Impact.”

Speaking as commissioner to a room packed with police commanders on Jan. 16, Mr. Bratton said that he would be “looking to make, hopefully with the support of the unions, significant changes in the way we train our young men and women after they come out of the academy.” He said figuring out how to do so would be the “principal assignment” of his new deputy commissioner for training, Benjamin B. Tucker, along with opening the new Police Academy in Queens.

Stephen Davis, the department’s top spokesman, said no changes had yet been made to the program, which is under review. “He’s talking to his staff about what his plans are; that’s not an announcement,” he said of the address.

Mr. Davis added: “The bottom line is, yes, there are going to be some changes. What they are right now hasn’t been ironed out.” He added that evaluating the program was a priority for Mr. Bratton.

There are roughly 2,700 members of the Police Department currently assigned to Operation Impact in zones designated as high crime, small areas of a precinct that can encompass only a few troubled blocks. Officers, almost always in their first few years in the department, patrol their areas of responsibility, in pairs and on foot, under the supervision of a sergeant, and are told to focus on the crime issues in that tight zone. They are often also placed there at times of day known to be troublesome.

Mr. Bratton told reporters on Friday after The Times reported on his comments that his goal was to “have Operation Impact move toward a largely overtime operation or using officers who are very familiar with an area,” rather than groups of rookies with “limited supervision.” He said the next class to enter the academy, later this year, would be the “beneficiaries” of the new precinct-based approach.