NYPD First-Quarter Report: Sexual Assaults Up in Brooklyn, Down in Bed-Stuy

Sexual assaults are up 24 percent in the city, with Brooklyn leading all five boroughs, according to 2011 first-quarter crime statistic released by the NYPD.

The NYPD logged 340 rape complaints in the first three months of this year, compared to 274 during the same period in 2010, a 24 percent jump overall and a 32 percent jump since 2009.

Of the 340 rapes logged so far, Brooklyn accounts for 97, a total of 28.5 percent of all rapes, the highest overall number of reported cases.

Part of the increase in reported numbers may have to do with reforms New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly initiated last December in how sexual assaults are handled. Kelly has added 30 detectives to his Special Victims Unit, and detectives are now sent to interview the victim and notify the unit.

However, in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, the numbers show a different trend. The 79th Precinct has logged 5 rapes since the beginning of the year through March 27, 2011, compared to 7 rapes during this same time last year, a 28.6 percent drop, according to CompStat.

And the 81st Precinct covering Stuyvesant Heights has logged 3 rapes since the beginning of the year through March 27, 2011, according to CompStat, compared to 7 rapes during this same time last year – a 57.1 percent drop.

In fact, although crime has increased in both precincts over the past 28 days, compared to last year at this time, there were no reported rapes for the entire month of March in either precinct, according to CompStat.

But even with the increased efforts by the NYPD to identify sexual assault cases, Kelly still thinks sexual assaults are being underreported by the victims, according to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

“The fact that in 87 percent of reported rapes, the assailant was an acquaintance or relative of the victim indicates a willingness of victims to come forward, even when they know their assailant,” said Browne.

An increase in crime is never a welcome signal in any neighborhood. However, underreporting – particularly in the cases of sexual assaults – can do more harm than good.