Report: 99 Percent Of Students Handcuffed In NYC Schools Were Black Or Latinx

Photo by Steven DePalo

A new report focusing on New York City school safety data has revealed that a disproportionate amount of students handcuffed were either black or Latinx.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) looked into school data for 2016 and discovered that there were 262 "child in crisis" incidents where handcuffs were used, with a 99 percent of those incidents involving Black or Latinx children.

To make matters worse, most of the officers involved in those incidents have no training in school environments, with 88.5 percent of arrests conducted by New York Police Department precinct officers and not school safety officers.

However, school safety officers are also at fault. The report also revealed that there were 208 complaints made against school safety officers, including 89 for use of force, 15 for abuse of authority, 17 for offensive language and 87 for discourtesy.

"Police officers should never handcuff students who don't pose an immediate safety threat," NYCLU Advocacy Director Johanna Miller said. "And the NYPD should not treat schools as places to hunt for students they believe committed a crime off of school grounds. Students should never be afraid to go to school."

Read the NYCLU's full report here.