Communities United for Police Reform Holds Mayoral Forum on Public Safety Issues, including Gun Violence, Policing Issues, and Economic and Social Factors Related to Safety

New York, NY – Communities United for Police Reform, the New York Amsterdam News, Gay City News and GlobalGrind.com held a mayoral forum on community safety Thursday evening at Riverside Church. The forum was moderated by NY1 Noticias’ Pura Politica host Juan Manuel Benitez and focused on issues such as stop-and-frisk and other policing practices, gun violence, and economic and social factors related to safety.

“Our communities want safety and want to know that their voices are getting heard on the issues that impact us the most,” said Jose Lopez of Communities United for Police Reform. “It’s critical that our communities engage in the electoral process this year by registering to vote and educating themselves on candidates’ positions.”

The forum comes days after Communities United for Police Reform launched a non-partisan citywide campaign to encourage the thousands of New Yorkers impacted by stop-and-frisk and other discriminatory policing practices to become active in the 2013 elections. It began with an effort to register thousands of new voters – many of whom have been directly affected by discriminatory policing – from across the city.

Many of the same New Yorkers who are being disproportionately impacted by stop-and-frisk and other controversial policing practices are underrepresented among registered voters. A NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) report cited studies that found younger voters were underrepresented in the electorate compared to their composition of the eligible voting population, but that their “low voter participation [was] in part attributable to the failure of political campaigns to target” them. Cited in the report was a Young Voter Strategies study that showed “turnout more than doubled where nonpartisan campaigns actively [targeted] the youth vote.”

In 2009, Black, Latina/o and Asian voters were the majority of the electorate in New York City for the first time in a citywide race.


QUOTES

“The latest data show that the number of stop and frisk encounters dropped by more than half during the first part of 2013 and, contrary to Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly's predictions, so did crime,” said Alfredo Carrasquillo, VOCAL-NY's Civil Rights Organizer. “We look forward to a discussion of how to bring New Yorkers together around a policing strategy that protects our constitutional rights, including stronger protections against racial profiling, without sacrificing public safety.”

“As we head into the most important part of the election season, it is critical to understand the various positions on the candidate's strategies to secure our streets,” said Michael Skolnik, President + Editor-In-Chief of GlobalGrind.com. “It is no longer about a stronger police presence, but a much more complicated combination of policing, community programs, better schools, more job opportunities and a commitment to increasing violence intervention and prevention workers.  We hope each candidate will weigh all of those factors as they devise their plan.”

“We demand that our candidates for mayor explain to voters where they stand on vital criminal justice issues,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Impacted communities must not be overlooked.”

“NYCC members believe that everyone should have the right to feel safe from crime and violence in their community,” said Amelia Adams, deputy director of New York Communities for Change. “NYCC members across the city have seen their communities significantly impacted by stop and frisk policies. At today's forum, we are watching the Mayoral candidates with a keen eye. We want to learn what their positions are on the issues that impact us most.”

“The LGBT community has long been vigilant about patterns of inappropriate police conduct and NYPD's stop and frisk policies, and many groups have worked on these issues dating back decades,” said Paul Schindler, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gay City News. “Gay City News believes this candidate forum will contribute to the discussion of these vital issues during a critical election year.”

“Police accountability and community safety have been important issues to our community members for a long time. We're glad that on Thursday night, we'll give voters a chance to learn about the candidates' stances on these issues,” said Vivian Truong, Asian Youth in Action Program Coordinator of CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities.

“New York City needs leaders who will guarantee that all communities are safe and respected,” said Brittny Saunders, Senior Staff Attorney for Immigrant & Civil Rights, Center for Popular Democracy.

About Communities United for Police Reform

Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and policing practices based on cooperation and respect– not discriminatory targeting and harassment.

CPR brings together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those unfairly targeted the most by the NYPD. CPR is fighting for reforms that will promote community safety while ensuring that the NYPD protects and serves all New Yorkers.

Learn more: http://changethenypd.org/
Follow CPR on Twitter: @Changethenypd
Like CPR on Facebook: Facebook.com/Changethenypd