NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The city police department’s share of unsolved rape cases spiked in 2020 — even as the total number of reported rapes dropped.
Roughly 60% of reported rapes to the NYPD went unsolved in 2020, the lowest percentage since the NYPD began publicly publishing the data in 2018. The agency solved about 50% of rape cases in 2019 and roughly 45% of those cases in 2018, data shows.
The decline last year came as reported rapes declined from 1,794 in 2018 to 1,427 in 2020, according to crime data.
The statistics were a focus of a City Council oversight hearing Monday, where victims and their families slammed the NYPD for the difficulties they faced in attempting to bring their attackers to justice.
“I’m giving you guys everything, everything and I’m calling so diligently, so promptly, showing up to things promptly, making sure I have everything that’s important to this case and it just lands on nothing,” said a woman who testified named Christine, WYNC/Gothamist reported.
“To see the values ‘courtesy, professionalism and respect’ on every police car is an insult to my experience,” she added.
Those testifying said they found detectives in the NYPD’s Special Victims Division to be unhelpful or inept.
The head of the NYPD’s division, Deputy Inspector Michael King, said he has been working to improve the unit since taking the job back in August of last year. The division has faced increased scrutiny after a damning Department of Investigations report in 2018 outlined systemic understaffing and dismissiveness among members of the unit.
“Your testimony does not fall on deaf ears,” King said at one point during the hearing, the Daily News reported. “Since I have been the commander here let me say I have spread the word throughout the division that laziness and callousness will not be accepted here.”
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