Citizens Union in 2008 comprehensively reviewed New York City’s policies and procedures governing the handling of alleged police misconduct and the subsequent internal disciplinary action. Members of CU, its board of directors, and staff have participated in meetings with over two dozen key individual stakeholders, including the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), City Council Members, the Police Commissioner, police officers, district attorneys, representatives of the Mayors Office, among others, to better understand and evaluate the issue. The culmination of the research and discussions was the development of a series of policy recommendation designed to improve public confidence and support for the New York Police Department (NYPD) by strengthening public oversight of police misconduct and ensuring a fairer and more independent procedure for handling complaints of misconduct. Citizens Union plans to continue to advocate for necessary changes to the civilian oversight process, as represented in the follow-up reports and position statements below.
- August 26, 2013 — CU Issue Brief on Stop, Question and Frisk
- March 28, 2012 — CU Report — Diminished Accountability: How Discipline for Police Misconduct is Downgraded by the NYPD
- March 28, 2012 — CU Commends City Agreement Allowing Civilian Complaints to be Prosecuted Independently
- December 11, 2009 — CU Testimony in favor of Intro 1025, to require quarterly reporting of civil claims filed against the New York City Police Department
- September 23, 2009 — Huffington Post Op-ed by Citizens Union and Councilmember Dan Garodnick
- July 29, 2009 — Citizens Union and City Councilmembers Announce Introduction of Legislation to Reform the Civilian Complaint Review Board
- January 29, 2009 — Testimony to the City Council Committee on Public Safety re: the CCRB’s 2007 Annual Report
- May 2008 — Issue Brief and Position Statement on Public Oversight of Police Misconduct
- April 15, 2008 — Press Release on Recommendations to Strengthen Public Oversight of Police Misconduct
Further Resources and Websites of Interest:
- New York Times Article on October 5, 2009 re: Reforming CCRB
- Citizens Union and Councilmember Garodnick CCRB Fact Sheet
- Transcript from January 29, 2009 City Council Oversight Hearing on CCRB’s 2007 Annual Report
- Hearing Testimony from January 29, 2009 City Council Oversight Hearing on CCRB’s 2007 Annual Report
- 9/10/08 New York Times Article re: CCRB Lawyers Assisting the NYPD in Complaint Prosecution
- 2001 Memorandum of Understanding between the CCRB and NYPD to Transfer Prosecutorial Power to the CCRB
- Civilian Complaint Review Board
- Commission to Combat Police Corruption (CCPC)
- Vera Institute of Justice
- New York Civil Liberties Union