Indicators within Safety and Victimization

• Race & Violent Victimization

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between blacks’ and whites’ violent crime victimization rates.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Victims of violent crimes may experience trauma or physical injury, as well as problems in relationships, health, finances, work or school, and other areas of their lives. In the US, blacks and Hispanics are the victims of violent crime at higher rates than whites.

  What Did We Find?
  Racial and ethnic disparities in violent victimization rates were sizeable and persistent, with blacks (698.184 per 100,000) more than four times more likely to be victims of violent crimes, which include murder, rape, robbery, and felonious assault, than whites (159.291). The rates for Hispanics (464.243) and Asians/Pacific Islanders (265.805) were also much higher than the rate for whites. Rates decreased for all racial and ethnic groups from the baseline year, when the rate was 753.838 for black, 496.323 for Hispanic, 274.088 for Asian, and 179.986 for white New Yorkers.
• Race & Domestic Violence Homicide

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between blacks’ and whites’ family-related homicide rates.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Violence by intimate partners and other family members is a serious problem in the US and beyond, and can cause serious injury and even death. Nationally, blacks are much more likely than whites to be victims of domestic violence, including violence leading to homicide.

  What Did We Find?
  The total number of family-related homicides was 63 in both the baseline and the current years, and more than half of these homicides involved an intimate partner (37 at baseline and 38 in the current year). Blacks continued to be much more likely to be victims of family-related homicides (1.651 per 100,000) than Hispanics (0.804), Asians (0.502), and whites (0.221). When broken down by borough, Staten Island had the highest victimization rate (1.891), followed by the Bronx (1.580), Brooklyn (0.494), Manhattan (0.487), and Queens (0.429).
• Foster Care Status & Child Abuse/Neglect

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the child abuse and neglect rates for children in and out of family foster care.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Child abuse and neglect have serious, lasting, and even fatal consequences, with hundreds of thousands of victims annually in the US. Maltreatment can lead to foster-care placement, though children in foster care are more likely than those out of foster care to be victimized.

  What Did We Find?
  There were 8,732 children in foster care in the current year. Children in family foster care were somewhat more likely than children in the community to experience abuse and/or neglect this year, with 7.6 incidents per 100,000 days in family foster care, compared to 5.3 for children out of foster care during the previous year. The disparity between the two groups flipped from the baseline year, when children in the foster care system were less likely to experience abuse and/or neglect (4.0, compared to 4.8 for children out of foster care). *Updated out-of-care data were not provided by the time of final collection, so the out-of-care data here reflect last year’s findings.
• Hate Crime Victimization

  What is Measured?
  Rate of hate crime victimization citywide.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Hate crimes are motivated by bias against characteristics of the victim such as race or sexual orientation. These acts are considered especially pernicious because they not only harm victims, but send a message of intolerance and intimidation to the group to which they belong.

  What Did We Find?
  There were 369 hate crimes committed in NYC, compared to 308 citywide in the baseline year. The number of reported hate crimes was highest in Brooklyn (139), followed by Manhattan (127) and Queens (70), while there were fewer hate crimes reported in the Bronx (22) and Staten Island (11). Across New York State, religiously-motivated hate crimes were most common (52.0%), followed by anti-race/ethnicity/national origin hate crimes (25.6%) and anti-LGBT hate crimes (20.6%). Within religiously-motivated hate crimes, anti-Jewish hate crimes were most common, accounting for 40.5% of all reported hate crimes. Within race and ethnicity, anti-black hate crimes have their own category and accounted for one-eighth (12.5%) of the total hate crimes. Anti-gender (0.8%), anti-age (0.8%), and anti-disability (0.2%) crimes accounted for the remainder of hate crimes. *Updated data were not available at the time of final collection, so the data here reflect last year’s findings.

Indicators within Fairness of the Justice System

• Race & Misdemeanor Arrest

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between blacks’ and whites’ misdemeanor arrest rates.
  

  What’s the Backstory?
  Regardless of innocence or guilt, a misdemeanor arrest can have considerable negative repercussions, including loss of employment, child custody, and housing. In the US, blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately arrested for misdemeanors, for which police have greater discretion in responding than they do for felonies.

  What Did We Find?
  Substantial racial and ethnic disparities persist in misdemeanor arrests. Blacks had the highest misdemeanor arrest rates (1,581.966 per 100,000), followed by Hispanics (896.311). Asians were the least likely to be arrested for a misdemeanor (304.397), followed by whites (332.886). Rates decreased for all racial and ethnic groups from the baseline year, when the rate was 1,765.054 for blacks, 1,075.299 for Hispanics, 392.873 for whites, and 356.279 for Asians. The disparity between blacks and white remained almost unchanged from baseline.
• Race & Trust in Police

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of blacks and whites who would not be comfortable asking the police for help.

  What’s the Backstory?
  If people are not comfortable asking the police for help, it suggests a fundamental distrust of law enforcement that weakens police legitimacy and jeopardizes public safety. In the US, racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to trust law enforcement than whites.

  What Did We Find?
  Black respondents were the most likely to report that they would not be comfortable asking the police for help (25.9%), followed closely by Asian (25.2%) and Hispanic (23.1%) respondents. Among white respondents, 14.7% reported distrust in police in the current year, up from 8.1% at baseline. This increase, combined with very little change among black respondents (down slightly from 26.4% at baseline) contributed to a smaller disparity between the two groups. The percentage among Hispanics also decreased from baseline (from 20.2%), while the percentage among Asians increased (from 14.5%). There were also differences by sexual orientation: individuals who identified as LGB (29.8%) were considerably more likely to feel uncomfortable seeking help from the police than individuals identifying as heterosexual (19.8%).
• Race & Jail Admissions

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between blacks’ and whites’ jail admissions rates.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Incarceration has serious negative consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Although the majority of people in the US are white, most people in the country’s jails and prisons are racial or ethnic minorities, and blacks have the highest jail admission and incarceration rates.

  What Did We Find?
  The disparity in jail admissions rates for black and white New Yorkers had a small decrease from the baseline year, but blacks were still more than six times more likely to be admitted to NYC jails (1,582.232 per 100,000) than whites (247.680). Asians had the lowest jail admission rate (88.914), while the rate for Hispanics was not reported in the current year. The rate for blacks decreased from the baseline year (2,067.319) and decreased slightly for whites (from 241.442) and Asians (from 94.916). Looking at gender, men were far more likely to be admitted to jail than women: in the current year, 50,831 (90.9%) admissions were men while 5,071 (9.1%) were women.
• Religion & Trust in Police

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of Muslim and Jewish individuals who would not be comfortable asking the police for help.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Since the 2001 terror attacks, the NYPD, City government officials, and federal law enforcement have made numerous efforts to build relationships with the Muslim community. However, studies suggest that trust in police among Muslim-Americans has remained limited locally and nationally.

  What Did We Find?
  Trust in police differed among religious groups, with 25.5% of Muslim respondents reporting that they would not be comfortable asking the police for help, compared to 14.0% of Jewish respondents. Percentages increased for both groups from the baseline year, when 19.0% of Muslim and 8.8% of Jewish respondents reported distrust in police. Protestants also experienced an increase in distrust in police from baseline (17.3%, up from 16.5%), as did atheists (32.5%, up from 20.2%). Catholics, on the other hand, saw a decrease in distrust in police (14.3%, down from 15.1%).

Indicators within Political Power

• Race & Representation in Government

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of blacks and whites who think the government is not racially and ethnically diverse.

  What’s the Backstory?
  The US is becoming increasingly racially and ethnically diverse. It is important that the government reflect this diversity and that people see their own group represented. However, most elected officials nationwide are white, while racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented.

  What Did We Find?
  The percentages of respondents who think the government does not reflect the diversity of the NYC population increased from baseline for all racial and ethnic groups. In the current year, whites became the group most likely to report a lack of diversity in government (41.9%), compared to blacks (40.7%), contributing to a large positive change score and flipping the disparity between the two groups. While this change does not reflect improvement in racial and ethnic representation in government, it perhaps reflects an increase in awareness of the lack of diversity among all groups, particularly white New Yorkers. High percentages of Asians (39.6%) and Hispanics (36.4%) also did not think the government is diverse.
• Race & Representation in City Management

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the rates of proportional representation of Hispanics and whites in City management positions.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Public employees in management positions are responsible for the decisions that impact the operation of government agencies and, in turn, affect the lives of residents. City management that reflects the diversity of the population may be able to better serve the needs of different communities.

  What Did We Find?
  Among public employees in management positions, including officials and administrators, 57.6% were white, while 19.3% were black, 13.7% were Hispanic, and 9.2% were Asian/Pacific Islander. In comparison, 31.7% of the NYC population was white, 29.2% was Hispanic, 21.8% was black, and 14.4% was Asian. Whites were overrepresented in City management positions (1.817), compared to blacks (0.885), Asians (0.638), and Hispanics (0.469). Rates of representation were similar to the baseline year, when the rate was 1.890 for whites, 0.823 for blacks, 0.592 for Asians, and 0.437 for Hispanics, although there was a slight decrease in the disparity between Hispanics and whites. *Data are collected every two years for this indicator.
• Gender & Representation in Government

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of female and male elected government officials.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Women make up about half of the US population but are typically a minority in its legislative institutions. While gender diversity in legislatures improves citizens’ perception of those organizations’ legitimacy, men hold a substantially larger share of elected offices nationally than women.

  What Did We Find?
  There was only negligible change in the gender disparity among elected officials since our baseline review. Out of 166 elected local government officials, only 30.7% were women, while 69.3% were men. These officials include the Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, City Council members, Assembly members, district attorneys, borough presidents, State Senators, and US Representatives from NYC congressional districts. The disparity was more pronounced at the city level, where less than one in four (23.4%) elected officials was female, compared to more than one in three (36.0%) representatives in the New York State Legislature.
• Education & Political Empowerment

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the perceived inability to influence government decision making for people with the lowest and highest educational levels.

  What’s the Backstory?
  For a democracy to function well, its citizens must feel that they have a voice. In the racially, culturally, and economically diverse society we live in, education is a common thread that brings diverse groups together and allows them to form more informed opinions about political processes in the city and nationally.

  What Did We Find?
  Of those with less than a high school diploma, 76.5% agreed that they don’t have any say about what the government does, compared to 53.8% of those with a professional/graduate degree; agreement was 68.9% among those with a high school diploma and 56.9% among those with a 4-year college degree. The percentages increased for all educational attainment groups, and there was a slight improvement in the disparity between those with the lowest and highest education levels. There were also income-based disparities: 75.3% of those making less than $30,000, compared to 42.5% of those making more than $150,000, felt they did not have a say.

Indicators within Civic Engagement

• Race & Voter Turnout

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the voter turnout rates in majority Asian and majority white areas.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Voting is a fundamental right of US citizens and helps to ensure that the needs of disadvantaged groups are understood and addressed by elected officials. Voter turnout tends to be lower among racial and ethnic minorities, especially Asian Americans, than among whites.

  What Did We Find?
  Citywide, 25.2% of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2017 election. Voter turnout was highest in majority white census tracts (30.4%), followed by majority black census tracts (25.6%), majority Asian census tracts (19.5%), and majority Hispanic census tracts (18.0%). In census tracts with no racial or ethnic majority, the voter turnout rate was 23.9%. Voter turnout was similar in the current year compared to the baseline for majority white (30.2% at baseline), majority black (25.2%), and majority Asian areas (19.1%), but decreased slightly for majority Hispanic areas (from 19.6% at baseline), which surpassed majority Asian census tracts as the areas with the lowest turnout rate.
• Income & Voter Turnout

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the voter turnout rates in the bottom and top income areas.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Voting is the primary route through which citizens make their voices heard in government, and low turnout rates decrease political influence among disadvantaged groups. Nationally, people with lower incomes are less likely to vote than those with higher incomes.

  What Did We Find?
  Differences in voting patterns in poor versus rich areas persisted in the current year: 19.1% of registered voters in the bottom 20% median income census tracts voted in the 2017 election, compared to 31.5% of those in the top 20%. Among registered voters living in middle income census tracts, 25.0% voted. Voter turnout rates were similar in the baseline year, when 20.5% of registered voters in the bottom income areas, 24.8% of those in the middle income areas, and 31.9% of those in the top income areas voted.
• Disability & Voting Access

  What is Measured?
  Percentage of polling sites in the most recent election with barriers to accessibility.

  What’s the Backstory?
  People with disabilities have lower rates of voter registration than people without disabilities. Registered voters who have disabilities also have lower rates of turnout for elections. Some of that low turnout is associated with challenges reaching polling places as well as barriers at those sites.

  What Did We Find?
  Of the 59 poll sites surveyed by the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York in 2017, 35 (59.3%) had barriers to accessibility, including inadequate ramps (11.9%), inadequate signage (20.3%), narrow entryways/pathways (32.2%), and insufficient space to access ballot marking devices (15.3%). Only 24 sites (40.7%) had no barriers. There was a moderate improvement in site accessibility from the baseline year, when 69.4% of sites had barriers.
• Location & Participatory Budgeting

  What is Measured?
  Percentage of city council districts not engaged in participatory budgeting.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Participatory budgeting allows community members to decide how to spend government funds, and typically engages a more diverse body of participants than the general election does. As of the 2017-2018 budgeting cycle, almost half of NYC council districts did not allow participatory budgeting.

  What Did We Find?
  During the 2017-18 participatory budgeting cycle (Cycle 7), 27 out of 51 city council districts engaged in participatory budgeting, decreasing the percentage of non-participating council districts from 52.9% at baseline to 47.1% in the current year. The number of people who participated increased considerably from 51,362 to 99,250, and allocated funds across participating districts increased from $32 million to $37 million.