Activists Demand NYPD Double Its Too-Small Sex Crimes Force

NEW YORK, NY — Women's rights activists on Thursday called on the NYPD to double its understaffed and overworked sex crimes force by adding experienced detectives who are sensitive to victims.

Advocates condemned the findings of this week's Department of Investigation report that revealed the NYPD's Special Victims Division has just 67 detectives in its adult sex crime units to handle more than 5,600 cases last year. Police brass didn't beef up the squads despite repeated warnings from within the department that they lacked needed resources, the report found.

"The NYPD's Special Victims Division is failing the women and men of New York City," Sonia Ossorio, the president of the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women, said at a news conference outside NYPD headquarters.

Endorsing one of the DOI's recommendations, activists think the NYPD should double the number of investigators dedicated to sex crimes by adding detectives "who have a fire in the belly for locking up rapists," not inexperienced cops who too often make victims feel guilty, said Jane Manning, the director of advocacy for Women's Justice NOW, a NOW sister organization.

NOW also wants Police Commissioner James O'Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio to ensure sex crimes investigators are well trained and to launch education and outreach efforts aimed at reducing sexual assaults.

The debate follows an increase in rapes reported to the NYPD since September. Police officials have attributed the spike to more victims coming forward amid a nationwide movement to pull back the curtain on sexual violence.

But the dearth of resources and dirty, cramped Special Victims Division facilities detailed in the DoI report make reporting rapes and other sex crimes trying for victims, advocates said.

A lack of training is also a problem, activists said. Sexual assault survivors often report that cops who interview them make them feel they have to prove they're not lying, Manning said.

"The Special Victims Division doesn't have enough personnel to conduct thorough investigations," Manning said. "There's not enough training to produce investigators who know how to do great work on rape cases. Rape victims suffer as a result, and so does public safety."

Activists praised the Special Victims Division's leadership and its core group of experienced sex crimes detectives who go the extra mile for victims. But survivors and the division itself will continue to be hamstrung without action from police officials, they said.

"We have to turn this around. We have to turn it around for everybody," said Mary Haviland, the executive director of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.

The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. The department on Tuesday disputed some of the DoI's findings, including the number of investigators who handle adult sex crime cases — 85, not 67, a spokesman said — and their average caseload.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said sex crimes are a "major priority" for the Police Department and pledged to put more resources toward tackling them if necessary. But he defended the NYPD and O'Neill, saying the DoI report shouldn't be taken as gospel truth because the Police Department disputes it.

"I think the NYPD really needs to be heard on this before anyone passes judgement," the Democratic mayor said at an unrelated news conference. "But the question is, would we invest if we need to to address a problem? Of course we will."

(Lead image: Sonia Ossorio, the president of the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women, speaks at a news conference outside NYPD headquarters on Thursday. Photo by Noah Manskar/Patch)