Crime in city schools is down, but black and Hispanic kids are still far more likely to end up on the wrong side of the law.
From June 2012 to July 2013, school safety agents made 579 arrests in city schools, a 34% drop over the previous year — data obtained by the New York Civil Liberties Union shows. Summons dropped more than 50%.
This past school year saw a 14% decrease in major felony crime compared with the previous year, while violent crime is down 28% in the same period, the city Department of Education statistics released Saturday show.
NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said they were “pleased” with the decline, “but we’re mindful and concerned that the arrest figures for the quarter remain as high as they were last year and the racial disparities in the arrests persist.”
From April through June there were 203 arrests. Over the same period last year, there were just 10 more.
Nearly all of the kids who were cited or arrested are black or Hispanic, despite the fact that those groups only account for 70% of students in city schools.
The statistics released under the 2011 Student Safety Act include only arrests made by school safety agents and not those by precinct police officers called in for backup or under dangerous circumstances.
For the Bloomberg administration, increased school safety is a point of pride. They noted that major crime has dropped by 56% and violent crime is down 55% since 2000.
“Safety is a top priority, and over the past 12 years our schools have provided our students and staff with a positive, nurturing environment where they can excel,” Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott said in a statement.
Democratic candidates for mayor have said discipline problems should be handed back to principals, with police officers reserved for only the worst offenses.
“We need to stop using the criminal justice system to discipline students,” said Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said behavior problems should be addressed by expanding the community school model. “Using 911 as the answer to school discipline has led to deeply troubling disparities in treatment of minority students and young people with disabilities,” he said.
rmonahan@nydailynews.com
