Public Advocate Letitia James proposed a bill Wednesday requiring data on all NYPD youth arrests with a focus on those school-related.
“The goal of this legislation is to protect youth from unjustified arrests,” James said, according to a press release.
Under the law, New York City police will be required to create a report for youths under the age of 18 who were arrested for violations. The report will include charges, age, race, precinct, and address of the arrest.
This location of the arrest is central to the report since it will show if the arrest address corresponds to the address of the school.
Currently the School Safety Division compiles data on juvenile arrests, which include statistics of arrests made by NYPD personnel assigned to the school building. Arrests made outside school grounds or by precinct officers who are not stationed at the corresponding school, are not recorded.
James said the data will make sure the youth doesn’t enter the juvenile justice system if the arrest is avoidable.
“During the 2011–2012 academic year, there were 882 school-related arrests, which averages to nearly four arrests per school day,” she said.
According to the release, the data will also be central to discussions about appropriate police practices and allocation of police resources.
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