The New York Police Department is accused of hiding the real number of deadly weapons confiscated from students at school. Nearly 2000 weapons confiscated from pupils are reportedly covered up by the NYPD to bring their crime statistics into a positive light.
Security guards who have come at odds with the NYPD over the issue said they have been chastised by the latter, the Telegraph reported. The NYPD also allegedly threatened to slash the security guards' holiday allowance and put them under investigation.
NYC Mayor Being Blamed
Gregory Floyd, president of the school safety agents' union, said they should be commended for raising awareness about the problem; instead, they were being silenced and intimidated by the NYPD. Floyd told the New York Post that numerous security guards are now scared of reporting the confiscated weapons.
According to Floyd, the cover-up was spearheaded by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to make it appear that crimes in schools are down and it is now a safe environment for students. This way, parents are ignorant of what's really happening at schools.
Confiscations And Lax Punishments
Data provided by the NYPD revealed that security guards and police have confiscated 1,751 guns, knives and other weapons from students between July 1, 2015, and May 8, 2016. That confiscation rate was a 26 percent spike from the previous school year, with 1,394 weapons seized.
Floyd thinks that the surge of students bringing weapons to school is exacerbated by de Blasio's lax punishments for offending pupils. Floyd said the students were not arrested in majority of the cases, which is the reason why crime statistics are down—because actual crimes aren't being reported by the police.
As per de Blasio's ruling, unruly students are just given warning cards instead of criminal charges. Floyd said this is another way to tone down crime statistics.
School violence increased by 23 percent in 2015, the New York Post reported from data. De Blasio, however, claimed that school violence was down by 29 percent during the 2010-2011 academic year.
Metal Detectors
De Blasio's School Climate Leadership Team is reportedly thinking about removing metal detectors from schools. This was another of the mayor's decision that Floyd's group opposes because it will further increase the likelihood of students getting hurt. Sixty percent (1,053) of the weapons confiscated from students came from schools without metal detectors, while only 698 came from schools with metal detectors.
A study published in the journal Educational Researcher found that schools with a more peaceful environment and less violence levels have students with higher test scores and academic performance. This is proof that stress and commotions at schools interrupt students' learning.
