Education

Report: Increased Amount Of Sex Crimes At Schools

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A New York Police Department (NYPD) report shows the rate of sex crimes at schools in the city significantly rose in 2017.

NYPD School Safety data shows that sex crimes in the last quarter of 2017 grew by 73 percent compared to the last quarter of 2016, the New York Post reported  Tuesday.

“This is deeply troubling and we treat every incident with the utmost seriousness to ensure it is immediately reported, investigated and addressed,” the Department of Education spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said, according to the New York Post.

The final 2017 quarter also saw an increase in student-related sexual misdemeanors — 26 students were charged with rape, sexual misconduct or forcible touching, compared to 15 in 2016. The previous record for the number of sex crime charges was 22 in 2016. The total number of sex crime-related arrests in 2017 was 69 compared to 68 in 2016.

“We are working in close partnership with the NYPD to provide schools with additional supports,” Barbot added.

The rate of “forcible sex offense” has also rapidly increased since 2014. In 2017 there were 21 offenses, 18 in 2016, 14 in 2015, and 10 in 2014. The highest amount of “forcible sex offense” reports was 29 in 2007.

The number of other less severe sexual offenses, such as “touching another student on a part of the body that is generally regarded as private,” grew to 2,604 in 2017 from 2,311 in 2016, the New York Post previously reported.

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