In response to the end of the first How Many Stops Act (HMSA) reporting period, Communities United for Police Reform spokesperson Hassen Bashir, Civil Rights Campaign Coordinator at VOCAL-NY released the following statement:
“HMSA is the law of the land, yet –at the close of this first reporting period– it has become clear that the NYPD is refusing to follow the intent of the law. Despite the law stating that the data must be disaggregated, the NYPD is aggregating the data in an attempt to skirt transparency. The data shows there are racial disparities yet the NYPD's presentation of the data seeks to obscure them. Once again, the most impacted and vulnerable communities are left to jump through hoops for simple transparency. The failure of the NYPD to follow the intent of HMSA is part of a dangerous and long-standing pattern of the NYPD refusing all efforts to increase even basic transparency, accountability and oversight.
“The NYPD isn’t following the intent of the law, the mayor– a former police officer– has been indicted on corruption charges, and meanwhile they are attempting to change New York City’s constitution to give themselves more power to prevent bills like this from being passed. It’s a staggering cycle of corruption that takes power away from New Yorkers and concentrates it in the hands of the mayor and his NYPD.
“The NYPD must fully follow the HMSA law, and New Yorkers must flip their ballots over and reject the mayor’s changes to the city’s constitution by voting NO on props 2-6.”
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BACKGROUND
The How Many Stops Act (HMSA) is a police transparency bill that requires the NYPD to collect and publicly release data on all NYPD street stops, investigative encounters and consent searches. If the police department follows the law, New Yorkers will finally understand who the NYPD is stopping, where, when, why and if the stop involves police use of force.
This law was fought for and won by the NYC communities most impacted by the NYPD's abusive stop-and-frisk practices. HMSA was passed due to their leadership and a community organizing campaign that mobilized thousands of New Yorkers and over 100 organizations across several years.
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 reduces reliance on policing. CPR runs coalitions of over 200 local, statewide and national organizations, bringing 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 most unfairly targeted by the NYPD.