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The cops are really skirting the line in Brooklyn.
NYPD officers are warning Park Slope women to keep their skin-baring clothing in the closet as they hunt for the pervert behind a string of sex attacks in the leafy neighborhood.
But even as cops issued their cover-it-up edict, an alarmed community group is already taking action to thwart the creep — organizing a buddy system for women too freaked out to stroll Park Slope’s suddenly ominous streets alone after dark.
The unprecedented response from both cops and the community — first reported in Friday’s Wall Street Journal — has been triggered by a sick streak of attempted sex attacks, including one rape, since last March.
Some neighborhood women told The Post, however, that officers stopping them on the street and telling them to cover up is aggravating.
“We’re constantly fighting against the perception it’s the woman’s fault,” said Tracy Hobson of the Center for Anti-Violence Education and a Park Slope resident.
“The reality is, we should be who we want without having to worry about being attacked or people on the street being inappropriate with us.”
The cops see it differently.
“Investigators have pointed out that, as part of the pattern, the suspect or suspects have targeted women wearing skirts,” explained NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.
A law-enforcement source said most victims wore dresses or skirts, and the perp reached underneath.
Park Slope nanny Rissa Frances, 25, agreed with Hobson, and said the advisory was just plain weird.
“If a cop came up to me and said, ‘You shouldn’t wear that skirt,’ I’d ask, ‘Have you been talking to my dad or something?’ ” she said.
There have been 10 attempted sex attacks and one rape since March. The most recent incident occurred last week, when a pervert groped a woman, 29, as she exited the Prospect Avenue R-train station.
Cops have stepped up patrols in South Slope, Greenwood Heights and Sunset Park, and volunteers have plastered fliers describing two possible suspects in those neighborhoods.
In response, a group called Safe Slope has organized walking partners for women who need to walk the streets after dark.
Women can call the Safe Slope hot line at (347) 709-8852 and arrange for buddies to walk them home from Thursday to Saturday 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Photographer Ethan Sirotko, 60, of South Slope echoed a common sentiment among both women and the Police Department.
“Obviously, the real issue is they just need to catch the guy,” he said.