Resources

The NYPD Misconduct Complaint Database, which the NYCLU obtained through Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, is a repository of complaints made by the public on record at the CCRB. These complaints span two distinct periods: the time since the CCRB started operating as an independent city agency outside the NYPD in 1994 and the prior period when the CCRB operated within the NYPD. The database includes 279,644 unique complaint records involving 102,121 incidents and 48,757 active or former NYPD officers.

A chart that breaks down the difference between reformist reforms which continue or expand the reach of policing, and abolitionist steps that work to chip away and reduce its overall impact.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) awarded a Community Policing Development (CPD) grant to the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE). NACOLE sought to provide comprehensive guidance on civilian oversight for oversight practitioners, law enforcement, community organizations, and local officials in order to further develop effective civilian oversight throughout the United States. With support and funding from the COPS Office, NACOLE has developed nine in-depth case studies of civilian oversight agencies throughout the United States; a searchable, online database of civilian oversight agencies and their characteristics; and a report on the state of the field and effective practices.

In the wake of the recent conviction of Derek Chauvin and the police killing of Daunte Wright, a new nationwide survey by BSG sheds light on the factors that contribute to public safety and reveals an overwhelming public support to reallocate police funds for a wide range of public safety proposals. The research also illuminates American’s perceptions around police accountability and de-escalation training.

Sitting at the intersection of criminalization and capitalism, the use of emerging surveillance technology has become increasingly popular among police departments in the United States over the last few decades. While public knowledge is still catching up to the full extent of the tools that police use, we are quickly understanding more about this technology each day. Adopted for use as police “reforms,” sophisticated electronics and tech capabilities do not address the unchecked power and ballooning budgets of local police departments. Instead, they open the door for law enforcement to monitor communities while private companies profit from sales and contracts. As the movement to defund the police becomes impossible to ignore, replacing police officers with police cameras is called progress.

Living in a “surveillance state,” however, is not a foregone conclusion. Organizers across the country are pushing back against intrusive and problematic surveillance technologies by providing program models and model legislation to disrupt 21st Century Policing and ensure awareness and meaningful interventions. This report presents an overview of ongoing trends in police surveillance and the funding streams that have made and continue to make these trends possible. It also highlights ongoing advocacy efforts and provides recommendations for pushing back against the use of such technology by law enforcement.

May 25, 2020 was a both a personal tragedy for the Floyd family and a community tragedy. But it was also a watershed moment locally and nationally in people’s understanding of police violence, the racism and classism that underpins it, and the systems that enable it. This document seeks to provide specific recommendations for addressing police brutality, misconduct and abuse of authority in the state of Minnesota. Many of these recommendations are not new—our organization has presented them many times over the years. Prior failures by leaders at the city, county and state level to adopt these evidence-based solutions are what brought us to this place.

A report on research by Abolish APD that details Albuquerque Police partnerships with private firms linked to neo-Nazi and white supremacist websites and the CIA, as well as highlighting lack of transparency and honesty around APD’s use of these programs.

Beginning in 2021, the City of Portland will start its next round of negotiations with the Portland P olice Association over the labor contract covering sworn police officers. Amid a historic uprising against police brutality in the streets of Portland and across the country, we, the undersigned, call upon the City to keep the needs of grassroots Portlanders at the center of the bargaining process. As outlined in the demands, the current City contract and side agreements with the PPA contain barriers to effective oversight of policing, and make it virtually impossible to fire officers for using excessive force or engaging in biased policing. While strengthening the City’s contract with the PPA won’t fix every issue in policing in Portland, it is an important part of the broader fight to hold police accountable for the harms they cause our communities.

In May, many of us were devastated and heartbroken when George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis. This marked yet another Black man’s life being taken too soon by the very people that are supposed to protect us. As Philadelphians took to the streets to express their First Amendment rights with justified anger at the institutions that enabled this to happen and to advocate for Black lives, the City of Philadelphia appeared unprepared to handle the resulting unrest. The investigation shows that the root cause of the lack of planning was a lack of leadership at the highest levels.

It is also important to spend time reflecting on the fact that teargas was deployed in our city during these events. Teargas is banned in warfare and has not been used in Philadelphia for civil unrest since the MOVE crisis in 1985. Despite this, teargas was deployed on our own people several times during the unrest. The negative and painful effects of teargas cannot be overstated, and it should not have been used the way it was. The report details how our own police department shot teargas canisters down residential streets in West Philadelphia, hurting children in their own homes and innocent bystanders.