Data released by NYCLU shows that an average of five students a day were arrested in city schools.
Cops arrest an average of five kids each day in city schools - and nearly all of those students are black or Hispanic, newly released data shows.
The New York Civil Liberties Union said the arrests are “unfair” and introduce minority children into the criminal justice system unnecessarily.
“Children are being sent to the precinct instead of the principal’s office for misbehaving,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.
The numbers cover Oct. 1 to Dec. 30, 2011, and were released by the police to comply with a city law enacted last year.
Cops arrested 279 students -- about five a day in 55 days of classes. They also issued 532 summons to students for offenses ranging from assault to loitering -- nine a day.
Nearly 94% of the students arrested were black or Hispanic, and 75 % were male.
Black students were almost six times more likely to be arrested than white students, according to the data, Lieberman said.
“These policies are putting young men in the pipeline to prison rather than the road to success,” said Lieberman, who noted that most of the arrests were for misdemeanors.
Most of the kids who were collared during the period covered by the data attended high school or middle school and were age 15 or older.
School arrest data released by the NYCLU in November showed that about one student was arrested per day on average last summer, when far fewer kids were attending school.
Department of Education officials declined to comment on the data. Police officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
bchapman@nydailynews.com
