How the NYPD defines rape is bonkers—and so is their abysmal clearance rate.
Fewer than 1 percent of detectives on the force investigate sexual assaults and the clearance rate is below the national average.
Last week, the Justice Department launched an investigation into the NYPD’s handling of sexual assault. The investigation was spurred by reports that rather than solve sex crimes, the Special Victim’s Division, depicted by the perpetually compassionate, doe-eyed Det. Olivia Benson on Law and Order: SVU, was “shaming and abusing survivors and re-traumatizing them during investigations,” in real life.
Adams spokesperson Maxwell Young said helping rape victims was at the top of the administration’s list. “There is no higher priority for law enforcement than ensuring that victims of sexual assault get the justice they deserve and the care, support, and treatment they need,” he said.
Commissioner Keechant Sewell, the first woman to hold the position, said, “Our goal is for SVD to be the national model,” she said. “I believe any constructive review of our practices in the Special Victims Division will show that the NYPD has been evolving and improving in this area, but we will be transparent and open to criticism as well as ideas in the process.” Let’s hope it’s not “the national model!”
Here are a few things of note about the NYPD’s handling of rape cases.
In New York, first degree rape has been defined as penile penetration of a vagina, even though the FBI greatly expanded the definition in 2012 to include male victims and forcible penetration of any kind and of any cavity.
The NYPD has started to differentiate between “forcible rape” and “expanded rape” in their public documents. They’re required by law to keep count of “expanded rape” in order to report accurate numbers to the FBI. A recent investigation however found that the NYPD was publicly using numbers that were more limited, e.g. “forcible rape.”
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