Citizens Union believes that the best way to ensure the safe and democratic application of policing is to strengthen and streamline systems of oversight and accountability, both within the NYPD and among the independent entities that monitor police misconduct. Public safety is dependent on New Yorkers having faith in law enforcement.
Policing is an important, but hardly the sole, driver of whether those who live, work or visit the city or its communities feel safe. Citizens Union believes public safety is a broad problem that must be addressed through a number of agencies and a wide range of stakeholders. This approach requires a fundamental shift of emphasis, from over-reliance on the NYPD to a structured, multi-agency approach.
Citizens Union has been studying police accountability and performance in New York City for more than a decade. In reports and position statements since 2008, we have urged strengthening the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), highlighted how the NYPD downgrades discipline for police misconduct, addressed the overuse of “stop, question, and frisk”, and stressed the need for consistency across the police oversight system and the department’s internal procedures. Many of our recommendations have been implemented, including the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that granted prosecutorial power to the CCRB, which CU was instrumental in pushing for. We have also advocated for the State Legislature to repeal Section 50-a of the civil rights law, which prevented police disciplinary records from being made public. It was finally repealed following the 2020 George Floyd protests.
Citizens Union’s most recent reports on police reform, both published in 2021, detailed a new agenda to improve NYPD governance and accountability and provided recommendations for the then-incoming mayor to recalibrate the City’s approach to public safety and policing.
- March 2021: Agenda for Police Reform – Governance and Accountability
- December 2021: Public Safety and Policing in New York City: Recommendations to the New Mayor
2024 Reform Agenda – Police Reform
Empower independent oversight bodies to effectively investigate police misconduct
- Provide the CCRB with prompt and full access to footage from body-worn cameras, police officers’ employment history and disciplinary records and all other documents and materials in the possession of the NYPD relevant to its investigations.
- Update the NYPD’s information and data storage technology to allow police oversight agencies to access data relevant to their mission.
- Merge the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD and the Commission to Combat Police Corruption into the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
- Expand the CCRB’s jurisdiction to include traffic and school safety agents and other civilian employees of the NYPD.
Ensure discipline measures imposed are commensurate with the gravity of wrongdoing
- Transfer disciplinary hearings involving police officers from the NYPD to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).
- In cases in which the Police Commissioner proposes to depart from a discipline recommendation of the CCRB involving suspension or termination, provide the CCRB with the right to appeal to a deputy mayor, who would have final authority over the penalty.
Establish meaningful public oversight over the New York Police Department
- Make the appointment of the Police Commissioner subject to the advice and consent of the City Council.
- Create a legal framework for policing, by establishing policies through publicly accessible law and regulation covering such areas as use of force, handling of demonstrations and the imposition of disciplinary sanctions.
- Create a statewide authority to certify and decertify police officers.
- Increase budget transparency by breaking down the NYPD budget into more specific units of appropriations.
Improve the effectiveness of policing in the City’s various communities
- Maintain and expand pilot programs that effectively shift responsibilities from the NYPD to other city agencies in areas like mental health, homelessness outreach, and schools and youth.
- Invest in alternative models for community-driven public safety, such as the Mayor’s Action Plan and Cure Violence programs, currently run by The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.
- Provide local community stakeholders a decision-making role in developing and improving public safety plans.
Recent Activity – Police Accountatbilty
Watchdogs Support NY Post FOIL Lawsuit Requesting Police Disciplinary Records Prior to June 2020
December 6, 2024 - Watchdog groups Reinvent Albany, Citizens Union, and Common Cause NY submitted an amicus brief to the New York State Court of Appeals supporting the New York Post’s lawsuit seeking the public disclosure of police disciplinary records created prior to June 2020, when the state law repealing §50-a of the Civil Rights Law took effect. The groups advocate for open and accountable government in New York, including strengthening the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), and supported the repeal of 50-a in 2022.
Citizens Union’s Positions on the 2024 Ballot Proposals
October 10, 2024 - write-ups of CU's positions on the 2024 ballot proposals. We recommend a YES vote on Proposal 1 and a NO vote on Proposal 2-6
Citizens Union Responds to the Resignation of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban
September 12, 2024 - Citizens Union has issued the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to the resignation of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban
Citizens Union Report Finds Ample Opportunities for Public Input on Public Safety Bills in the City Council
July 8, 2024 - There is already ample opportunity for the public to comment on Public Safety bills before the New York City Council, according to a comprehensive analysis released today by Citizens Union. The report found that there were no major differences in time awarded for input on public safety bills compared with other bills; that the current Council does not provide less time for public input on public safety bills compared to previous Councils; and that high-profile public safety bills that drove the conversation took longer to approve than many other contentious bills.
Citizens Union Responds to ProPublica and The New York Times Report Outlining a Misuse of Disciplinary Rules by NYPD Leadership
June 28, 2024 - Citizens Union has released the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum in response to the ProPublica and The New York Times joint report on NYPD disciplinary practices
Testimony before the 2024 Charter Revision Commission – Public Safety Hearing
June 20, 2024 - Citizens Union has been studying police accountability and performance in New York City for more than a decade, and many of our recommendations have been implemented. We believe the best way to ensure the safe and democratic application of policing is to strengthen and streamline systems of oversight and accountability, both within the NYPD and among the independent entities that monitor police misconduct. Public safety is dependent on New Yorkers having faith in law enforcement.
Citizens Union, Other Good Government Groups Call on City Council to Reject Budget Cuts to New York City Oversight Agencies in the Mayor’s FY24 Executive Budget
May 24, 2023 - Citizens Union, along with Common Cause, League of Women Voters of the City of New York, NYPIRG, and Reinvent Albany, sent a letter to Council Speaker Adams and several committee chairs expressing concerns over Mayor Eric Adams' proposed significant budgetary reductions to key oversight agencies
Citizens Union, Other Good Government Groups Call on City Council to Protect Funding for Oversight Agencies
March 29, 2023 - Citizens Union and other groups sent a letter to Council Speaker Adams and several committee chairs expressing concerns over the preliminary budget proposed by Mayor Eric Adams for Fiscal Year 2024, which includes significant budgetary reductions to key oversight agencies of New York City government. The groups believe that reducing agencies' resources and personnel will severely hinder their ability to ensure accountability, ethics, and good governance across the municipal workforce, and prevent waste and corruption.
Memo in Support of Intro. 0938-2023, Giving CCRB Access to NYPD body-worn camera footage
March 27, 2023 – Citizens Union supports this bill because it would reduce the limitations investigative agencies face in accessing police officers’ body-worn camera footage through codifying the timing, type, and uses of such access. By providing prompt and full access to body-worn camera footage, Intro. 0938-2023 would ensure the CCRB arrives at a clear and fair interpretation of events in a timely manner and prevent the Police Department from unjustifiably denying access to effective investigative resources.
CU Testimony – 2023 budget oversight hearing – City Council Public Safety Committee
March 20, 2023 - Testimony before the City Council Committee on Public Safety for the FY2024 Preliminary Budget Oversight Hearing – CCRB budget
Memo in support of S8428/A9050, a bill clarifying the intent of the 50-a repeal, April 2022
April 13, 2022 - Group Memorandum in Support of S8428/A9050, an act to amend the public officers law, in relation to the disclosure of law enforcement officer's disciplinary records.
Citizens Union Issues Report Outlining Public Safety and Policing Recommendations for New Mayoral Administration
New York, N.Y. (December 23, 2021)— Citizens Union, New York’s preeminent good government group, today released Public Safety and Policing in New York City: Recommendations to the New Mayor, a report outlining recommendations for the incoming Mayoral administration designed to promote public safety and make the NYPD more accountable and responsive. The report builds on Citizens Union’s comprehensive Agenda for Police Reform to make the NYPD more transparent and accountable, which the group released in March. You can read that report here.