Communities United for Police Reform Responds to President Obama’s Policing Task Force’s Final Report

In response to President Obama announcing the release of the final report by the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Joo-Hyun Kang.

“We applaud President Obama and the Task Force on 21st Century Policing for their leadership in bringing some important recommendations to the forefront of the national dialogue on how to improve police accountability and transparency. It’s now critical for local elected officials to make good on many of these recommendations so the report doesn’t simply remain as a piece of paper. New York has an opportunity to be a national leader, since several proposals that are consistent with Task Force recommendations are already under consideration and discussion. In New York City, the City Council should pass and the mayor should sign the Right to Know Act, whose policy objectives the Task Force report endorsed. It is also critical for the state to act upon report recommendations: Governor Cuomo should sign an executive order for a special prosecutor in cases of police killings and the state legislature should require police departments to collect and publicly report data on policing activity that includes deaths during police encounters and in custody.”

BACKGROUND

• The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policy made the following recommendation in the Policy and Oversight section of its final report, which matches The Right to Know Act’s Introduction 541:
  
  “2.10 RECOMMENDATION: Law enforcement officers should be required to seek consent before a search and explain that a person has the right to refuse consent when there is no warrant or probable cause. Furthermore, officers should ideally obtain written acknowledgement that they have sought consent to a search in these circumstances.”

•  The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policy made the following recommendation in the Policy and Oversight section of its final report, which matches The Right to Know Act’s Introduction 182:
  
  “2.11 RECOMMENDATION: Law enforcement agencies should adopt policies requiring officers to identify themselves by their full name, rank, and command (as applicable) and provide that information in writing to individuals they have stopped. In addition, policies should require officers to state the reason for the stop and the reason for the search if one is conducted.”

• The Task Force made the following recommendation in the Policy and Oversight section of its final report, which is in accordance with demands by the surviving family members of New York victims of police killings and other advocates for Governor Cuomo to assign a special prosecutor in cases of police killings and brutality:
  
  “2.2.3 ACTION ITEM: The task force encourages policies that mandate the use of external and independent prosecutors in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths.”

• The Task Force made the following recommendations in the Policy and Oversight section of its final report on data reporting that are consistent with proposed legislation in the state legislature to require collection and public reporting of demographic data on policing activity:
  
  “2.2.4 ACTION ITEM: Policies on use of force should also require agencies to collect, maintain, and report data to the Federal Government on all officer-involved shootings, whether fatal or nonfatal, as well as any in-custody death.”
  
  “2.6 RECOMMENDATION: Law enforcement agencies should be encouraged to collect, maintain, and analyze demographic data on all detentions (stops, frisks, searches, summons, and arrests). This data should be disaggregated by school and non-school contacts.”

The final report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing can be found here: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/TaskForce_FinalReport.pdf

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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.