NYPD cops face charges in downgrading crime

By COLLEEN LONG | AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- A law enforcement source says New York City police investigators uncovered dozens of instances where crimes were misreported at a Bronx precinct and 19 officers now face departmental charges. 

The officers worked at the 40th Precinct and face charges of misreporting. They face loss of vacation days and possibly dismissal from the department if they are found guilty.

The crimes were mostly low-level property crimes, not murder, rape or shootings, according to the official.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to the AP because the charges had not been released.

Allegations of downgrading crime plagued the previous administration with suggestions that crime rates were low in part because officers were claiming higher-level crimes like rape were being labeled as assaults to make precincts seem safer.