NYPD Archives | Stop Street Harassment

Police officer to groped woman: “These things happen”

January 2, 2012 By HKearl

“Jill Korber walked into a drab police station in Queens in July to report that a passing bicyclist had groped her two days in a row. She left in tears, frustrated, she said, by the response of the first officer she encountered.

“He told me it would be a waste of time, because I didn’t know who the guy was or where he worked or anything,” said Ms. Korber, 34, a schoolteacher. “His words to me were, ‘These things happen.’ He said those words.”

Crime victims in New York sometimes struggle to persuade the police to write down what happened on an official report. The reasons are varied. Police officers are often busy, and few relish paperwork. But in interviews, more than half a dozen police officers, detectives and commanders also cited departmental pressure to keep crime statistics low.

While it is difficult to say how often crime complaints are not officially recorded, the Police Department is conscious of the potential problem, trying to ferret out unreported crimes through audits of emergency calls and of any resulting paperwork.

….

In the case of Ms. Korber, the police did eventually take a report of her being groped, but only after her city councilman, Peter F. Vallone Jr., intervened, she and Mr. Vallone said. In fact, Mr. Vallone said that he had grown so alarmed over how many women were being groped in his district that he contacted the 114th Precinct; his staff then asked Ms. Korber to go there again.”

Of all of the forms of street harassment that women face, groping is one form that is illegal everywhere – it’s assault! So this news that NYPD is regularly not doing anything about it when women report it is very, very frustrating. Especially because during 2011 there were multiple serial gropers in New York City, and many other New Yorkers shared stories about men who groped them in the streets.

Because so many police officers respond this way, plus the fact that some police officers are harassers, makes many people take matters into their own hands, they choose to fight back or create a community response to street harassment.

But street harassment, including groping, is a serious problem. Groping is a crime. The police need to respond appropriately, otherwise, what’s the point of having a police force? Come on, NYPD, you can do better.

NYC steps up efforts to make subways safer

December 2, 2009 By HKearl

As any woman living in or visiting NYC, or as anyone reading the website HollaBackNYC will know, street harassment is a major problem there.

Public transportation is one of the hot spots for such offenses. The NYC Transit says there have been 587 reports of sexual offenses in the subway system so far this year, mainly on the Lexington Avenue 4, 5 and 6 lines. Harassment and assault are very under-reported, so the real numbers are far worse.

For more than a year, New Yorkers for Safe Transit have been working specifically to make the subway and bus systems harassment-free. For example, for over a year there have been anti-sexual harassment print ads and, for almost a year, audio ads on several subway lines, thanks to their efforts. Recently they testified at a hearing on sexual harassment on public transportation.

Their continued pressure and activism is leading to more efforts on the part of NYC’s transit system.

MTA reports they will increase the number of automated messages in the subway stations warning against assaults and they will begin distributing anti-groping posters and brochures.
They are working with the NYPD to have more officers at stations, especially during rush hour, so targets of sexual harassment can more easily report offenders. Victims of subway sexual harassment can also call NYPD’s Sex Crimes Report Line at 212.267.RAPE.
Building off the method HollaBackNYC uses for “hollaback”ing at harassers with camera phone photos, NYPD is working on a pilot program that would enable victims to send photos of harassers to police officers, who can investigate the case even after the harasser has slipped away into a crowd. This is essential because so often harassers only harass when they know they can escape or when they know there will be no witnesses.

Lastly, here are recent tips released by the NYPD for dealing with sexual harassment on the subway:

Do not be ashamed or afraid to report the offense to the police or an MTA employee immediately.
During off hours, wait at the marked waiting areas on the station platforms and sit in the conductor’s car when the train arrives.
Know your way around your subway stations: the locations of exits and where stairwells lead.
If the sex offense happens on a crowded subway car, if you can do so safely, step away from the perpetrator and loudly let others know what the offender is doing.
If you are in an empty car, leave the car and find one with more passengers.
If you can do so safely, use your cell phone to take a photo of the perpetrator, or make a note of any distinctive features or items of clothing.
If the perpetrator follows you off the train, call the police and stay in a crowded area.
Remain alert and awake.

Kudos to the New Yorkers for Safe Transit for keeping on the pressure and to the MTA and NYPD for stepping up their efforts to make subways safer and freer of sexual harassment.

How does it just "pop out"?

August 14, 2009 By HKearl

Remember the story I reported on yesterday, where a woman snapped a cell phone picture of a man masturbating on the subway and reported it to the police where an officer (a woman, even) said to call 311 about it? Well, yesterday afternoon two cops recognized the alleged subway masturbator from his picture and arrested him (without incident). Via NBC news:

“[Kevin] Bishop reportedly gave cops a wacky explination for why he was exposing himself.

“It just popped out!” Bishop told police after his arrest, according to the New York Post .

“Yes, that’s me in the pictures,” he confessed. “My private parts fell out. I looked down and it was out. It just popped out! I was trying to put it back.”

Bishop said that he “deeply apologize[d] for what happened….

Bishop was charged with public lewdness, cops said. He’s got quite a long rap sheet, including 64 arrests and 24 convictions on charges ranging from loitering to prostitution and drug possession.”

Riiiight. It just ‘popped out.’ The woman’s story differs. She says he was masturbating and looking right at her while doing so. She had sunglasses on and he didn’t observe her taking his photo with her cell phone.

Oh and how many times is a person able to get arrested because Bishop seems well on his way toward achieving that number. 64 prior arrests?! No wonder he went without incident when he got arrested. It’s a regular routine for him!

Also, the police officer who told the woman just to call 311 is now saying she meant to tell her to call 911… Right..wasn’t she at a police station already? Why would she need to call 911?

I’m glad they caught the masturbator and I hope it helps deter other guys from being completely inappropriate on public transportation. If you see someone being inappropriate, snap their picture and report it too!

How does it just “pop out”?

August 14, 2009 By HKearl

“[Kevin] Bishop reportedly gave cops a wacky explination for why he was exposing himself.

“It just popped out!” Bishop told police after his arrest, according to the New York Post .

“Yes, that’s me in the pictures,” he confessed. “My private parts fell out. I looked down and it was out. It just popped out! I was trying to put it back.”

Bishop said that he “deeply apologize[d] for what happened….

Also, the police officer who told the woman just to call 311 is now saying she meant to tell her to call 911… Right..wasn’t she at a police station already? Why would she need to call 911?

Subway Harasser Nabbed, Thanks to Cell Pic

April 9, 2009 By HKearl

Earlier this week, a man allegedly groped a woman on a New York subway on the W line in Queens and she was able to take a cell phone picture of him, which then was widely advertised online.

Yesterday, the same man was at it again. The woman he was harassing believed she recognized him from the photo and called the police. The NYPD arrested him outside Bay 50th Street station in Brooklyn for disorderly conduct and marijuana possession, but he will likely be arraigned soon with sexual assault charges.

Apparently he has 30 prior arrests ranging from sexual assault to robbery. The fact that someone can accumulate so many arrests by the time he is 30 years old and still be loose in public is quite surprising to me. Could it be a typo in the article? THIRTY prior arrests?!

“I’m happy they caught him,” the 33-year-old ultra-sound technician [who was groped earlier in the week] told the Daily News. “I was proud I was so quick.”

“I think every woman should do the same thing, given the circumstances. It’s a very difficult position to be in. There’s no way to prepare yourself for it. But you have to be prepared.”

She said she just reacted to the situation.

“Everybody says I’m so heroic. I felt so nervous about the whole thing. I felt threatened and violated for a few seconds. It wasn’t very pleasant.”

She is proud of herself, though.”

Kudos to her, to the woman who recognized him, and to the NYPD for responding so quickly. With this harasser caught, a harasser in Delaware caught for following a jogger, and a Stop Street Harassment contributor reporting two harassers to their company in DC, it’s been a good week for catching & reporting street harassers – way to go everyone who was involved (minus the harassers)!

On a side note though, is the man in NY mentally stable? If he’s not, it’s a shame he’s not receiving help but instead is left to roam NYC, apparently assaulting and robbing a minimum of 32 people (including the latest two).