Lawmakers cite rise in crimes against NY's Asian-Americans

New York Congresswomen Grace Meng and Nydia Velázquez have called on Police Commissioner William Bratton to combat what they say is an "alarming increase" in crimes against the city's Asian-American community, and to hire more Asian-American police.

In a letter to Bratton dated Thursday, the lawmakers wrote that according to the police department's annual crime report, "Asian/Pacific Islander" was the only group that had an increase in the percentage of victims for every type of crime measured between 2008 and 2014.

"Unfortunately, the rise in New York City's Asian-American population does not account for the increasing number of Asian-American victims of crime. For example, between 2008 and 2014, Asian Americans went from accounting for 2.1 percent of the victims of felony sex crimes to 5.5 percent – the ratio more than doubled, unlike the rise in the Asian-American population of the city," they wrote in the letter, a copy of which was sent to China Daily by Meng's office.

"We do not know what the underlying causes of these disturbing trends are. Nor do we necessarily know the solution. What we do ask, however, is that the NYPD prioritize combating the growing trend of Asian- American victims of crime," wrote the lawmakers. "Increasing the number of Asian Americans who are uniformed NYPD officers, currently only 6.2 percent of the force, to align more closely with the city’s 13% Asian American population may be a good first step."

They asked Bratton to tell them what steps he will take, and offered their support to help saolve the problem.