Disparity Report
Betsy Combier
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Racial Disparity Seen In Use Of Handcuffs In Schools, NYCLU Study Says
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — City law requires the NYPD to report when kids are handcuffed in schools.
And as WCBS 880’s Alex Silverman reported, civil rights advocates have been looking over school safety data, and said they have found some troubling trends along racial lines.
The racial divide is especially stunning in cases where handcuffs were used to restrain a student in emotional distress. In 99 percent of those cases in 2016, the students were black and Latino.
“This is something that has got to change,” said Donna Lieberman of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Lieberman said most of the arrest in schools are made by precinct officers, and not officers from the School Safety Division. The NYCLU said arrests by school safety officers are down – but only 11.5 percent of arrests were made by those officers while 88.5 percent are made by precinct officers.
The NYCLU study also indicated that more than 25 percent or the arrests were connected to incidents that happened off school grounds.
“There is no excuse for the NYPD barging into our schools and using our schools as a hunting ground to pick up children who believe to be involved in illegal activity outside of school,” Lieberman said.
Under the Student Safety Act passed in 2015, the NYPD is required to report data on arrests by all officers in schools and the use of handcuffs.
The NYPD released a statement saying arrests are down 55 percent over the past five school years, and summonses by the NYPD are down 81 percent for the same period.
“Restraints are only used in rare circumstances—and in nearly 90 percent of the cases of helping a child in crisis or dealing with a serious emotional issue no restraint was used,” the NYPD said in a statement.
Department of Education spokeswoman Toya Holness added in a statement: “Crime in schools is at an all-time low and we’re encouraged by the continued decrease in number of suspensions , school-based arrests and summonses. Nothing is more important than the safety of students and staff and we’re continuing to invest in and expand critical school climate and mental health initiatives.”
Black and Hispanic kids accounted for 99% of all public school students handcuffed by NYPD school safety agents in crisis incidents in 2016, data published Monday shows.
A “child in crisis” incident is one where a student displaying signs of emotional distress is removed from the classroom and taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation.
In 2016, there were 262 child in crisis incidents where handcuffs were used, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which first reported the data — and all but three of those incidents, or 259, involved black or Latino children.
NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said kids who are subject to police action in school suffer academically and emotionally.
“When a child is handcuffed, the child is humiliated,” Lieberman said.
“It’s incompatible with the safe and supportive learning environment a school is supposed to provide,” Lieberman added.
Police and city school statistics show overall police actions in schools are declining.
But black and Hispanic kids, who account for about 27% and 41 % of all students, respectively, are still far more likely to find trouble with police compared to their peers.
Students said the situation is unfair.
“It’s racist,” said Manhattan Maker Academy sophomore Jennifer Gaspar, 15, who’s Hispanic. “It’s horrible we’re still going through things like this as a people. It shouldn’t be this way.”
The data reported Monday by the NYCLU is the first such release of school police data. The data set includes other information on police activity in city schools.
The statistics were published by the NYPD under amendments to the city’s Student Safety Act made in 2015 that require more transparency on police action in the public schools.
The NYCLU’s analysis of the data also showed that in 2016 there were 208 complaints made by civilians against school safety officers, including 89 for use of force, 15 for abuse of authority, 17 for offensive language and 87 for discourtesy.
An NYPD spokeswoman said police are working to reduce arrests at schools and restraints are only used in rare circumstances.
Education Department spokeswoman Toya Holness said the public schools receive $47 million annually for restorative discipline, staff training and crisis intervention.
“Crime in schools is at an all-time low,” Holness said. “We’re continuing to invest in and expand critical school climate and mental health initiatives.”
100% of the kids in my school are Black or Hispanic, so 99% of kids that were handcuffed being Black or Hispanic seems low.
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