A 2010 investigation conducted by the NYPD supported an officer's claims that his colleagues manipulated crime statistics to improve numbers in a Brooklyn precinct, according to The Village Voice.
The department launched a probe after Officer Adrian Schoolcraft came forward with accusations that officers falsified records of serious crimes in the 81st Precinct, including robberies, assaults and auto thefts.
Schoolcraft initially blew the whistle on the alleged record falsification in 2009, having made hundreds of hours of secret tape recordings of officers talking about the alleged misconduct. He distributed the tapes to the media and filed a lawsuit after he claimed his superiors forcibly removed him from the force. He was also forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The NYPD completed its 95-page report addressing Schoolcraft's complaints in June 2010 and several months later four officers were hit with a litany of charges, including tampering with crime reports and misleading internal investigators. But news of the NYPD investigation -- and its findings -- has not been reported until now, according to The Voice.
According to the paper, investigators found "a disturbing pattern ... indicative of a concerted effort to deliberately underreport crimes in the 81st precinct."
At the time the four officers were charged, the NYPD said the record tampering appeared to be isolated to the single precinct and was not indicative of a department-wide problem.
However, police sources told The Voice the 2010 investigation revealed the practice was indeed being used in other precincts.
The NYPD did not respond to The Voice's request for comment.
