School safety cops making fewer arrests

Fewer city students are getting booked.

School safety officers arrested 393 city students in the 2013-14 school year — a 32.1 percent drop from the previous year, when they busted 579, The Post has learned

Three of the students arrested last school year were only 13 years old, according to figures provided by the NYPD.

Teamsters Local 237 President Gregory Floyd, whose union represents school safety agents, said students are starting to behave better after seeing their friends get in trouble.

"What comes into play is students conform," he said. "They know now they're going to get caught. They obey the rules. Children test authority. That's what they do."

But civil-rights advocates point to an apparent change in tactics by School Safety Division Commanding Officer Brian Conroy, who a source said has privately told community leaders that arrests should be used as a last resort in schools.

"We speculate the Department of Education is using alternatives to manage behavior, and this is why we are seeing a reduction in arrests," said New York Civil Liberties Union Advocacy Director Johanna Miller.

"There's nothing on paper that says there is anything they are doing differently, but the numbers seem to show that officers are weighing different choices to manage misbehavior," she said.

School officials could not explain why arrests had dropped, and a police spokesman did not make Conroy available.

Department of Education spokesman Harry Hartfield said his agency's new guidance office — combined with additional professional development focused on counseling — would further reduce the need for police action.

"While we are encouraged to see that arrests in New York City's schools have decreased, we are committed to doing even more to make sure every student feels safe and can thrive," he said.

School safety officers also dished out 563 summonses and recorded 3,279 noncriminal incidents last year, compared with 788 summonses and 3,744 incidents the previous year, according to NYPD figures.

The total number of serious incidents reported in schools began falling during the Bloomberg administration. In the 2011-12 school year, for example, there were 70,032 serious incidents. A year later, there were 55,339.

The total number of incidents reported for 2013-14 was not yet available.

Miller, of the NYCLU, said she's hopeful the trend continues.

"We would hope that what we're seeing is that the adults in the building have a greater understanding of the harm that being arrested in school can do to a student and are seeking out other solutions when appropriate," Miller said.

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