Council Member Elizabeth Crowley recently introduced a bill that would provide greater reporting statistics from the NYPD regarding domestic violence. In an Op-Ed for the Huffington Post, Council Member Brad Lander outlines many of the reasons why this bill is so crucial:
Unlike other crimes, police often fail to take victims seriously. As the Village Voice reported in 2010, the NYPD has downgraded cases of sexual assault in order to improve crime statistics. Too little public information is provided about crimes targeting women, so I am proud co-sponsor on a bill (proposed by Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley) that would require the NYPD to report such crimes on the web. But at least the NYPD does test all the rape kits it collects – something that does not happen in many other cities. The FBI still uses an archaic definition of rape that excludes most rapes from being recorded by the agency. With this level of official indifference, many victims are discouraged from even reporting sexual assaults.
In 2008 Council Member Elizabeth Crowley was elected to represent the 30th Council District covering the Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, and Woodhaven neighborhoods. Elizabeth was the first female and first Democrat elected to represent that seat. She has chaired the Fire & Criminal Justice Services Committee since January 2010 which oversees the Fire Department, Department of Correction, Department of Probation, and Criminal Justice Coordinator’s Office.
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