NYPD Arrest or Ticket 14 Students Daily
NYPD School Safety Division
New data released by the NYPD show that on an average day, five students are arrested and nine are issued summons while in city schools. In the 55 school days between October 1st and December 31st, 2012 there were 279 arrests and 532 summons issued.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, stated, “This data confirms that in just three months, too many school children were treated as criminals for minor infractions and pushed into the criminal justice system—often for behavior that probably should merit a trip to the principal’s office.”
Almost all of those students were Black or Latino (94%) and male (70%). The alleged cause of police involvement was disorderly conduct in most cases (63%).
Using the criminal justice system to address minor infractions that have historically been addressed by school officials is both inappropriate and expensive. New York City spends over $200 million on the School Safety Division each year.
Part of this funding allows 200 armed police officers to patrol New York City Public Schools every day. Unlike school officials, these officers have not completed training on adolescent behavior development and are ill-equipped to address the needs of those they “serve”.
Milk Not Jails is committed to stopping the unnecessary flow of youth into the criminal justice system and is working with legislators and organizations from around the state to create systematic change.
Filed under: New York State, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: New York Public Schools, NYPD, Racial Disparities, School Arrest, School Safety Division
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