From the Uptowner:On the evening of February 17, Deborah Nathan was dragged into the woods of Inwood Hill Park by an unknown assailant who, she said, sexually assaulted her. When her attacker fled the scene, Nathan immediately called 911. She was stunned and disappointed by the response.
A dispatcher told Nathan that the police were busy elsewhere, she said, and she waited for more than two hours before paramedics arrived. When the police finally took her report, according to Nathan, she provided a description of her attacker, as well as a full account of what he said during the attempted assault.
The police told her that the incident would be classified as “forcible touching,” a misdemeanor. Nathan, a 59-year-old freelance journalist, was surprised, believing she’d been the victim of attempted rape, a felony. She was further disappointed when she received a copy of her police report, and discovered that most of the details she’d provided weren’t included.
The next morning, an indignant Nathan posted an account of her experience on an Inwood blog (and subsequently told it to the Village Voice). Her story soon reached Adriano Espaillat, then the district’s state assemblyman, and the same afternoon, Nathan’s police report was changed, the crime upgraded to attempted rape, a felony.
Similar accounts, in which the police have reportedly downgraded felony crimes to misdemeanors in an apparent attempt to keep crime statistics low, have emerged over the past few years.
Former police officer Colleen Helly, who retired in September from the 32nd precinct, shares those concerns. She has personally experienced pressure from supervisors to downgrade a crime from a felony to a misdemeanor, she said. Listening to her fellow officers, Helly said, she learned that the practice has become widespread.
Robberies and sex crimes like Nathan’s are the easiest to manipulate, especially if the victim isn’t visibly hurt, Helly said. “If there’s no penetration, they won’t make it a sex abuse case,” she said. “If there’s no bruising, no injuries, they’re going to drop it down.”
Downgrading begins when responding officers alter or omit information in police reports, in Helly’s experience. “There are cases that do get downgraded,” she said, “and the majority of them are because of how they’re written up.” She blames poor training for some omissions, but says pressure from above prompts most deliberate downgradings. “It’s to make the city look better,” she said.
15 comments:
Take the laws into our own hands to upstand then. Would the city like that better?
It ain't gonna get better...........
Her problem started when she was obviously not clear on the phone that she had been "raped." I can assure you had she used the word rape on the phone with 911, she would have had an immediate response.
The downplaying of this crime began with the victim.
On the other hand Julian Assange has been charged with rape in Sweden because his condom broke...
To anony 3: Your an asshole for making that statement
Inwood?
The cops are probably too concerned with trying to accumulate arrests by stoping and frisking people with the hope of finding drugs on them.
The war on drugs.... 40 years later and we're still losing.
(sorry to get off topic).
any cop who is caught forging legal documents (which is what a police report is) or any other act against the public good, should have to select a member of their own family of whom a finger will be cut off.
Take the laws into our own hands to upstand then. Would the city like that better?
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Hell no, they would not. Take a look at the gun laws in this town. The only people they want to have guns are themselves. Constitution be damned.
"The downplaying of this crime began with the victim."
that's a load of crap.
when were you a crime victim?
your post, is just more blame the victim CRAP.
the NYPD is always crying the blues about money but when are they going to do their dam jobs?
Note: when she got a politician involved the tune changed.
This is also encouraged by the DA's office. They tell cops --"Don't bring me cases I can't prosecute..." They want to be able to say "we have a 98% convinction rate" or whatever.
It's a disagree and another step down into the big abyss that will eventually turn us into a third-world nation.
You could learn to protect yourself and could legally carry a knife. Unless it's changed, you can carry a fordable knife (not those old school gang knifes) as long as the blade is under 5".
Carrying a gun is just silly since a lot of people aren't likely to properly maintain it or train themselves on how to use it.
"This is also encouraged by the DA's office. They tell cops --"Don't bring me cases I can't prosecute..." They want to be able to say "we have a 98% convinction rate" or whatever. "
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That's enough Law and Order for you.
The Bernard Goetz approach would have worked well here..shoot first and ask questions never!
Maspeth mom says..
Carry a pencil in your pocket and stick it in their eye or neck.
Maspeth mom says..
Carry a pencil in your pocket and stick it in their eye or neck. This writer was probably the only one on this blog to contribute something constructive.
An attorney could be retained to investigate who at the precinct struck the victims statement from her report. Ray Kelly should recall the precinct commander and also apologize to the victim.
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