19 Officers in NYPD’s 40th Pct Face Charges for Underreporting Crime Stats
(DNAINFO) Eddie Small, Ben Fractenberg and Murray Weiss — More than a dozen members of the 40th Precinct face departmental charges for underreporting crime statistics, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Friday afternoon. An audit of 1,558 of the precinct’s complaint reports and a review of radio activity revealed 55 instances in which officers failed to properly process crime complaints during a four-month period in 2014, mainly in the categories of petit larceny, lost property, misdemeanor assault, criminal mischief and criminal trespassing. Overall crime stats for the precinct have been recalculated. Instead of a 14 percent drop in crime, the number dropped to 11.4 percent, according to Bratton. Deputy Inspector Lorenzo Johnson, the commanding officer of the precinct, has been transferred, and the officers facing charges include one lieutenant, eight sergeants, nine police officers and one detective, according to the NYPD.