Commish cops to SVU crisis

NYPD will revamp unit

The NYPD gave the usual kneejerk denial — in about 500 words and with bullet points — when a city report eviscerated the department’s Sex Crimes Unit as incompetent and understaffed.

A week later, Police Commissioner James O’Neill finally copped to the crisis — and promised a “top-to-bottom scrub” of the Special Victims Division.

“The new chief of detectives is going to come in and take a look at the leadership of Special Victims and the operations of the Special Victims unit,” O’Neill said Wednesday at an unrelated press conference.

He said an additional 20 detectives have already been added to the beleaguered unit, which handles adult sex crimes in each of the five boroughs.

The Department of Investigation published an embarrassing 163-page report on March 27 detailing years of issues within SVD, including botched criminal cases, crumbling facilities and prioritizing some cases over others. The DOI said there were just 67 detectives to handle 5,661 cases in 2017.

“More needs to be done to properly respond to victims of adult sex crimes,” the DOI said at the time. “The NYPD’s refusal to recognize this presents additional barriers to sex crimes victims in their pursuit of justice.”

Hours later, NYPD spokesman J. Peter Donald blasted the report as “inaccurate” and “misleading.”

“This document is an investigation in name only; it is inaccurate, misleading and does material damage to the relationships of trust the NYPD Special Victims Division (SVD) has worked hard to develop with survivors of sex crimes,” Donald said in a lengthy statement.

But his boss on Wednesday was far more circumspect.

“We disagree with some of the findings and we have 90 days to give our report back,” he said. “We’re going to take those 90 days and do a top-to-bottom scrub of Special Victims.”

On top of the 20 new investigators to handle active complaints, an additional 16 detectives will be added to SVD’s Cold Case Unit, which the report noted “currently has a significant case backlog.”

O’Neill also said new measures will be unveiled Thursday to help sexual-assault victims feel more comfortable in coming forward to police with their claims.

“We’re announcing a new campaign to make sure people do have the trust in us to report, that survivors of sexual assault do have the confidence and trust in us to report to the NYPD, to give us the opportunity to investigate,” O’Neill said.

Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins said, “This is the police commissioner’s concession that he had no idea what was occurring in Special Victims, not until it was pointed out to him in this DOI report.

“The DOI report confirms what the rank-and-file recognized long ago — that SVU is understaffed and overworked while sex crimes have spiked.”