By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department has opened a probe into a division of the New York City Police Department looking at whether it engages in gender-biased policing, including how it handles investigations of sexual assault and treatment of survivors, the department said on Thursday. The Justice Department said in a statement that it received information alleging deficiencies at the NYPD’s Special Victims Division (SVD) that have “persisted for more than a decade.” The alleged deficiencies include failing to conduct basic investigative steps and instead shaming…