Crime Stats Decline In Queens Schools

Although the Police Departments recent release of school crime statistics for the 2000-2001 school year placed four Queens schools on a list of the ten most violent in the city, there were deep declines from previous years.
Jamaicas Hillcrest High School had the most crime in the city, with a total of 18 incidents5 assaults, 11 robberies and 2 grand larcenies. John Adams in Ozone Park and William Cullen Bryant in Long Island City both listed at Number 5 with 13 incidents and Bayside High School filled out the list at Number 10 with 10 incidents.
But when compared to statistics from the previous school year, the number of incidents has decreased significantly.
"Crime in the schools [citywide] is down 15% in the past year and 25% over the past two years," said Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the Department of Education. "The numbers speak for themselves."
However the decrease is even more dramatic. According to the NYPD, Hillcrest cut its crime rate by 35.7%, Adams by 55.2%, Bryant by 31.6% and Bayside by an impressive 64.3%.
Additionally, according to Bryant Principal Bernadette Kriftcher, the police statistics make no reference to the number of students at the school, while Department of Education statistics generally cite crimes per 1,000 students. Bryant has 4,000 students, while Hillcrest has 3,150 and Bayside 2,600. "If you factor in our size, it makes a difference," she said.
Hillcrest Students Support Their School
Students emerging from Hillcrest High School on a recent afternoon expressed amazement that their school had topped a recently released list of the citys most violent schools. Male and female students frim a wide range of ages said they supported their school and felt safe in its hallways.
"There are nice students here," said Cynthia, a 17-year-old senior. "Its a really great school." Her friend, Ayanna, 16, agreed, adding, "Everyone is friendly, my parents wouldnt send me here if it wasnt a good school."
The girls said that the principal had made an announcement over the schools PA system earlier in the week explaining that the reason they topped the list was that he reported all incidents, regardless of their severity, while other principals might only report serious crimes. The difference in the rate of reporting, the girls explained, would then skew the crime statistics to Hillcrests disadvantage.
"I reported a robbery because my locker was open and stuff was stolen," said 17-year-old Junior, a senior at the school. However, he said he did not think Hillcrest had a chronic problem with theft.
Stephanie, another 17-year-old senior, said she was "destroyed" when she heard of Hillcrests position on the list. "Its sad," she said. "Students who might want to come here could be scared away. Stephanie is in the schools nursing program and will graduate in June with her LPN.
Lisa Peddie, the secretary of Hillcrests parents association, said her daughter, Diona, had been shocked to hear that the school was on the high-crime list. "Shes a studious girl and she never felt threatened at all," Peddie said. She added that security guards in the school were very effective and "treat the students like family and make a point to get to know them."
Bryant Students Tell A Different Tale
Sixteen-year-old Ajay, a Bryant student, did not share that sense of safety. "Security here is wack," he said.
Indeed, students lingering outside Bryant said they were not at all surprised by their schools spot on the violence list.
Less than a month ago, on September 24, two 16-year-old Bryant students were stabbed by a pair of other students their age. The perpetrators were arrested and charged with assault, according to police.
"This school is very, very violent," said 16-year-old Ali, sitting with Ajay and other friends on a stoop about a half-block up the street from the school.
"I almost got stabbed," said Ajay, explaining that he had been threatened with a knife a block from Bryant by teenagers he recognized from the school. "Three kids stopped me and asked for my money and I said OK. Then they asked my religion and when I told them they pulled a knife and I ran." Ajay said he is half Hindu and half Muslim, but when asked if he thought the violence was ethnically motivated, his friend Sophie, 15,answered for him. "Its racial, its anything. It doesnt matter who you are," she said.
Kriftcher defended her school saying, "Do we have problems here? Yes. But would I characterize this as a problem school? No." She explained that 7 of the 13 incidents at Bryant had taken place outside the school building and may or may not have been perpetrated by students, and one more had been a theft of some of the schools audio-visual supplies after school hours.
Kriftcher also noted that her school performed well academically. "Of 37 Queens [public] high schools, were eighth in English and tenth in math," she said.
Bayside Students Feel Secure
The brutal rape of a female student by three male student on school grounds in 1999 sent shockwave through the Bayside H.S. community. Since 1999 however, crime has fallen by almost 65% at the school.
"At first, when I came here to start freshman year I heard about the rape and I was worried," said 16-year-old Jean Tang, a junior. "But then it turned out the people are fine."
Her friend Shannen, a sophomore, concurred. "I thought it was going to be so much worse, but its like my old school," she said.
Akins Upuanus, a junior said problems arose outside the school building. "Things go on before and after school on the busses," he said. "But the halls are safer."
Victor, 17, agreed. "Theres not a lot of problems," he said. "Nothing happens."
Andrew Green, president of Baysides PTA, called the school "excellent academically," and said though he lived in Howard Beach he opted to send his four sons to Bayside despite the long commute.
Green explained that of the 10 incidents at the school, 3 had involved a school employee who stole equipment and supplies from offices, and that the perpetrator had been arrested. "That had no effect on the students, and if you get rid of those, it puts us a lot lower on the list," he said.
Peddie, Kriftcher and Green said being on the crime list did not mean their schools were more violent than others.
"If you look at statistics, you have to look with a careful eye," Green said.