Press Releases

For immediate release: March 3, 2015

“Community Policing” Can’t Coincide with Discriminatory Broken Windows Policing

Community groups: proposal to add 1,000 officers won’t produce community policing, but instead counterproductive impact

Community groups from across New York City testified at a City Council Public Safety Committee hearing to challenge the idea that community policing was being undertaken or beginning in neighborhoods.

For immediate release: March 3, 2015

Police Reform Advocates Call for NYC Council, Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo to Heed Specific Recommendations of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing

NYC Council Should Pass the Right to Know Act; Governor Cuomo Should Assign Special Prosecutor & Mandate Comprehensive Demographic Data Reporting

In response to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing recommending that police officers be required to seek consent for searches when no legal justification exists for them, independent prosecutors be assigned in cases of police brutality and killings, and demographic data on stops, frisks searches, summons, arrest, and use of force, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Joo-Hyun Kang.
 

For immediate release: February 24, 2015

Communities United for Police Reform Responds to NYPD Commissioner Bratton’s Comments on History/Policing

In response to Police Commissioner Bill Bratton’s reported comments today that included “many of the worst parts of black history would have been impossible without police,” Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Priscilla Gonzalez.
 

For immediate release: February 11, 2015

Communities United for Police Reform Responds to Indictment of Officer in Shooting Death of Akai Gurley

In response to the NYPD officer responsible for shooting Akai Gurley being indicted by a grand jury, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Joo-Hyun Kang.

For immediate release: February 11, 2015

Communities United for Police Reform Responds to Speaker Mark-Viverito’s State of the City Address

In response to Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s State of the City address, Communities United for Police Reform released the following statement from spokesperson Priscilla Gonzalez.

“We applaud Speaker Mark-Viverito for making equity within our criminal justice system a priority in her State of the City – her plans to expand civil legal services, create a citywide bail fund, and reform school disciplinary practices are essential to moving our city towards a more equal justice system. The Speaker’s proposals to address the misguided use of arrests in the enforcement of low-level offenses are necessary to end the unjust criminalization of communities of color.

For immediate release: February 3, 2015

Communities United for Police Reform Reaction to de Blasio’s SOTC:

Real Change Still Needed at NYPD to End Discriminatory and Abusive Policing
Communities United for Police Reform, a leading voice for reform at the NYPD, released the following statement in response to Mayor de Blasio’s State of the City: “There were positive steps taken in 2014, including withdrawing Bloomberg-era legal challenges to the Community Safety Act and the federal stop-and-frisk lawsuit. However, the era of stop and frisk abuses and other discriminatory policing in our city is far from over. While reported stops are down, the racial disparity of those stops has remained. We have a long way to go before there can be claims of the deep and substantive transformation in policing that our city needs.
For immediate release: January 30, 2015

To Shape National Agenda, Communities United for Police Reform Offers Testimony to President Obama on How to Improve Police Policy and Oversight in the 21st Century

On Friday, January 30 and Saturday, January 31, leaders of Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) join numerous advocates and leaders to submit testimony to President Obama’s administration on how to reform police policy and oversight, especially in large urban areas like New York City.

For immediate release: January 29, 2015

Communities United for Police Reform to Bratton: Your New Plan is Misguided and Offensive

Police Reform Advocates Slammed NYPD Commissioner Bratton Today for Refusing to Move Beyond Broken Windows Policing

Communities United for Police Reform, a leading voice for NYPD reform, today slammed NYPD Commissioner Bratton for announcing so-called changes that will continue to deepen the divide between police officers and local communities:

For immediate release: January 21, 2015

Communities United for Police Reform Responds to Cuomo’s Justice Agenda

Police Reform Advocates Give Cuomo Mixed Reviews: They Praise His Commitment to Releasing Statewide Ethnic and Racial Data on Police Actions, But Push Him to Create a Special Prosecutor for Cases of Police Brutality

Communities United for Police Reform, a leading voice for systemic change at the NYPD and in policing practice throughout New York, released the following statement today responding to the Justice Agenda presented in Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address:
 

For immediate release: January 19, 2015

#Dream4Justice March Connects Racial Justice and Police Reform Movements of Today to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Enduring Legacy

Communities United for Police Reform will participate in the #Dream4Justice March as part of a national call to #ReclaimMLK and honor Dr. King’s vision of uncompromising freedom that paved the way for the racial justice and police reform movements of today.

Today, on Martin Luther King Day, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) will join the #Dream4Justice NYC march in Harlem, along with groups from across the city, and connect Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy to current efforts to fight systemic racial and economic injustice and to end discriminatory and abusive policing.  

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