Reports of major crime plummeted in the city’s public schools this year – with fewer reported incidents of vicious felony assaults, robberies, rape and sex offenses, the NYPD reports.
But there are some disturbing increases: reports of theft and bomb scares skyrocketed.
And the infamous shooting inside Martin Luther King Jr. HS on the Upper West Side in January was the first use of a gun in a public school in years.
“Sex offenses are down substantially. Felony assaults are down. Rapes are down and robberies are down,” said Capt. John O’Donnell, commanding officer of the data unit in the NYPD’s Division of School Safety.
“The shooting was an aberration.”
There were three reported rapes during the school year ending last month, down from five the prior year. That’s a drop of 40 percent.
Sex offenses plummeted 30 percent, to 407 from 579.
Robberies dropped 29 percent, to 231 from 325.
Reports of weapons/dangerous instruments found in schools fell 34 percent, to 2,389 from 3,630.
Felony assaults fell 4 percent, to 323 from 338.
But the total number of assaults – including misdemeanors – was up 16 percent, to 1,462 from 1,255 incidents reported to the NYPD last year.
O’Donnell insisted the total number of assaults released to The Post last year was too low because some incidents reported at the precinct station houses had not been recorded by the School Safety Division. Those figures are being recalculated, he said.
He said that for the current school year, School Safety had instituted a system to record all incidents, including those reported at the station houses.
In all, there were 9,197 criminal incidents and other offenses reported – or nearly 50 a day in the city’s 1,100 public schools.
O’Donnell said the drop in school crime mirrors the continuing crime reduction throughout the city.
He also said there was a drop in incidents immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Also, a new law implemented this year enabled teachers and principals to remove rowdy students from the classroom and place them in detention rooms and suspension centers.
Still, there was a spike in thefts. Incidents of grand larceny jumped 17 percent, to 372 incidents from 317.
“Grand larceny was a concern. We started a campaign with the Board of Education to notify employees not to leave their property such as handbags unattended. We’ve posted notices in the schools,” O’Donnell said.
He said the 16 percent surge in bomb scares is partly attributed to a spate of mischief following Sept. 11. There were 474 bomb scare cases compared to 409 the previous school year.
Elsewhere, criminal possession of illicit drugs was down 8 percent, to 33 reported cases from 36.
But the number of drug sales tripled to three cases from one.
And there were 698 incidents of marijuana possession, and five reports of students selling pot.
There were no reports of murder or riots.
——–
LESS FEAR IN HALLS OF LEARNING
Reported incidents:
(7/01 – 6/02) / (7/00 – 6/01) / CHANGE
What’s Up
* Shootings: 1 / 0
* Grand Larceny: 372 / 317 / up 17%
* Bomb Scares: 474 / 409 / up 16%
* Reckless Endangerment: 84 / 71 / up 18%
* Kidnapping: 2 / 1 / up 100%
What’s Down
* Sex Offenses: 407 / 579 / down 30%
* Felony Assaults: 323 / 338 / down 4%
* Robberies: 231 / 325 / down 29%
* Rapes: 3 / 5 / down 40%.
* Burglary: 182 / 198 / down 8%
* Weapons / dangerous instruments: 2,389 / 3,630 / down 34%
Source: NYPD School Safety Division. School Safety is reconciling underreporting of incidents for the 2000-2001 school year. Some incidents were filed with individual police precincts, but were not recorded in School Safety Statistics.