In February, the Bronx saw its overall crime numbers dip by 5%, with notable drops in robberies and larcenies. However, a concerning trend continued as reported rapes dropped citywide by 22%, yet rose in the borough by 16% over that same timeframe last year.
Despite being home to roughly 17% of the the city’s population, the Bronx accounts for 25% of the city’s total reported rapes, according to September 2022 figures from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. This year, according to police data, there have been 29 reported rapes in the Bronx, as of March 6, exceeding the 2022 total of 25, during that same time period.
In 2022, there were 345 total reported rapes in the Bronx, with the highest incidences in the 43rd, 44th and 47th precincts, according to a Bronx Times analysis of NYPD data. Over the last two years, reported rapes in the Bronx have risen by 12%, while other reported sex crimes rose by 26%.
Does this mean that more rapes are happening the Bronx than any other borough? Criminal justice officials told the Bronx Times it’s a lot more complex than that.
“Primarily a lot of victims of sexual assault don’t even know that the crime victims assistance unit (in the Bronx) exists,” said Jessica Rosado, director of the Bronx District Attorney’s Crime Victims Assistance Bureau, one of the borough’s four rape crisis centers. “I think that when they’re going to report the crime, the extent of their resources are going to be whatever the police officers or the hospital can offer. Victims specifically, in the Bronx, there is a lack of trust in the police department and anybody affiliated with law enforcement to take their situations seriously.”
One caveat, is that sexual assault is nationally underreported — studies estimate 1 in 6 women and 1 in 21 men will be a victimized by attempted or completed forcible rape in their lifetimes — with only less than 40% of rapes reported to law enforcement.
Another hurdle for victims is the perception…
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