Trump’s Victory Could Mean End of Inquiry Into N.Y.P.D. Sex Crimes Unit

For President Biden’s administration, fixing the New York Police Department’s storied, but scandal-scarred sex crimes unit was a response to the #MeToo movement and part of a broader agenda of improving American policing.

But the outcome of that effort, along with 11 similar efforts in other jurisdictions, may be decided by Donald J. Trump, who was re-elected last week after vowing to end the sweeping scrutiny of the police that Mr. Biden embraced.

The Department of Justice two years ago began investigating whether missteps by the sex crimes division, known as the Special Victims Unit, amounted to discrimination against women. Prosecutors cited more than a decade of public complaints about the unit being understaffed and about investigators mistreating victims and failing to take basic steps to investigate cases.

Mr. Trump’s re-election has prompted concern that the decision of whether to pursue reforms could rest with a president who is hostile to the idea. During his first term, the Justice Department launched just one police accountability investigation — fewer than under any president since such investigations were established in 1994.

And even if the Justice Department and the city agree to a plan for implementing changes, known as a consent decree, they would still need court approval. And time to secure it may be running out.

Ellen Blain, who until recently was one of the federal prosecutors leading the investigation into the sex crimes unit, said Mr. Trump’s record in his first term suggested it was “entirely possible” that his administration would block the Justice Department from securing a pact with New York’s police.