LibGuides: Racial Justice &amp; Related Resources: Policing &amp; Reform

Policing

Racial Disparity Map

New York State

The records in this database detail 323,911 complaints dating back three and a half decades — and show that only a tiny portion of the complaints, 8,699, led to discipline against the officer. Twelve officers were fired.

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Search NYC Local Legislation here

Affirms the right to record police activities

Proposed Introduction No. 721-B, affirms the right to film police activities generally, and establish a cause of action enabling individuals to sue in state court for any violation of this right.

Criminalizes chokeholds and other restraints

Proposed Introduction No. 536-B, criminalize the use of restraints that restrict the flow of air or blood by compressing another individual’s windpipe or arteries on the neck, or by putting pressure on the back or chest, by police officer making an arrest.

“Requires on-duty police officers to display their badge at all times

Preconsidered Introduction No. 1962-A, requires officers to display their shield number or rank designation at all times when the officer is performing their duties.

Requires the NYPD to develop a disciplinary matrix

Proposed Introduction No. 1309-B, require the NYPD to develop a “disciplinary matrix,” which gives a recommended range of penalties for each type of violation. The NYPD Commissioner would retain the ultimate discretion to override the recommendation of the matrix, but the Department would be required to report on how often the Commissioner deviated from the matrix.

Requires an expansion of the NYPD’s Early Intervention System

Proposed Introduction No. 760-B, require the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to expand the categories of information included in its Early Intervention System (EIS) to include information like certain types of arrests made, incidents of excessive force, and ongoing disciplinary proceedings.

Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act

Proposed Introduction No. 487-A, require the reporting and evaluation of surveillance technologies used by the New York City Police Department (NYPD).

Select listing of Bills Passed:

The Safer New York Act is a package of bills in the New York State Legislature that would help increase police transparency and help increase accountability to New Yorkers' most common encounters with police. The #SaferNYAct includes the Police Statistics and Transparency (STAT) Act, codifying and strengthening the Special Prosecutor executive order, reducing Unnecessary Arrests for low-level, ticketable offenses, repealing the NYS police secrecy law (CRL section 50-a), and legalizing marijuana with strong attention paid to ensuring that resources are reinvested in communities most harmed by prohibition.

Weapons Discharge Reporting (S.2575-B/A.10608)

Any law enforcement officer or peace officer who discharges their weapon, while on or off duty, where a person could be struck by a bullet from the weapon is required to verbally report the incident to his or her supervisor within six hours and prepare and file a written report within 48 hours of the incident.

Police Statistics and Transparency Act (S.1830-C/A.10609)

The Police Statistics and Transparency Act - or STAT Act – requires:

courts to compile and publish racial and other demographic data of all low-level offenses, including misdemeanors and violations.
police departments to report any arrest-related death to the Department of Criminal Justice Services and to submit annual reports on arrest-related deaths to the Governor and the Legislature.

Providing Medical and Mental Health Attention to Individuals in Custody (S.6601-A/A.8226)

This new law requires police officers, peace officers and other law enforcement representatives and entities to provide medical and mental health attention to any individual in custody. Police can be liable for damages for anyone who does not receive medical attention and suffers a serious physical injury or has their injury exacerbated by the lack of care.

These cases were drawn from the NYCLU website - Racial Justice

Broadway Triangle Community Coalition v. Bloomberg

DECEMBER 4, 2017

NAACP Spring Valley v. East Ramapo Central School District

NOVEMBER 16, 2017

Charles v. City of New York (Challenging unlawful arrest of NYC resident for filming stop-and-frisk encounter)

JANUARY 3, 2013

Peoples v. Fischer (Challenging policies governing use of solitary confinement in New York's prisons)

JANUARY 3, 2013

Ligon v. City of New York (Challenging the NYPD’s aggressive patrolling of private apartment buildings)

APRIL 17, 2012

Ithaca City School District v. State Division of Human Rights (Arguing that state Human Rights Law covers school districts)

MARCH 8, 2012

Select Cases:

Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

Graham v. Connor (1989)

Saucier v. Katz et al. (2001)

Mullenix v. Luna (2015)

Kisela v. Hughes (2018)

Select related proposed bills:

Search US legislation here

H.R.7120 - George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020
This bill addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It includes measures to increase accountability for law enforcement misconduct, to enhance transparency and data collection, and to eliminate discriminatory policing practices.
H.R.35 - Emmett Till Antilynching Act
his bill establishes a new criminal civil rights violation for lynching.

Specifically, a person who conspires to commit certain civil rights offenses (e.g., a hate crime act) is subject to criminal penalties.
S.3956 - End Police Use of Chokeholds Act of 2020
This bill creates a new condition of eligibility for funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.

Specifically, to be eligible for grant funds under the COPS program and JAG program, a state or locality must have in effect a law that prohibits law enforcement officers from using a chokehold or carotid hold.

International

Laws
OHCHR Databases

OCHHR- Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials

The core international human rights instruments

Universal human rights instruments

Charter of the United Nations

The International Bill of Human Rights

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948

Jurisprudence Database
Access jurisprudence emanating from the United Nations Treaty Bodies that receive and consider complaints from individuals
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Database
Universal Human Rights Index
Access country-specific human rights recommendations and information emanating from international human rights mechanisms in the UN system: the Treaty Bodies, the Special Procedures and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
UN Charter Body Database
Search for documents and information pertaining to UN Charter-based human rights bodies, including the Human Rights Council and its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights.
UN Treaty Bodies Database
Search for documents and information pertaining to the core international human rights treaties.
Universal Periodic Review
Access information and documents about states that were part of the periodic review of the human rights. It includes documents submitted by countries themselves, UN agencies and external parties.
Special Procedures Database
Search for documents and information pertaining to the mandates and country visits of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.

Select Resources

Select Articles:

Police Reform and the Dismantling of Legal Estrangement
This Essay argues that legitimacy theory offers an incomplete diagnosis of the policing crisis, and thus de-emphasizes deeper structural, group-centered approaches to the problem of policing.
The Problem of Police Powers for People Living While Black
A revealing chronicle of a Harvard Law professor who was stopped by the police.
Here’s How To Protect Your Rights (And Data) During #BlackLivesMatter Protests
List some resources to protect yourself while involved in protests.
Law Professor On Misdemeanor Offenses And Racism In The Criminal System
Alexandra Natapoff, a law professor at the University of California at Irvine, says an over-emphasis on low-level crimes like traffic violations and loitering disproportionately affect African Americans.
New Tool Maps Racial Disparity in Arrests Across the Country
A Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research sociologist Beth Redbird measured racial disparities in data from 1999–2015

Chokehold by Paul Butler
Call Number: HV8141 .B88 2017
ISBN: 9781595589057
Publication Date: 2017-07-11
"Cops, politicians, and ordinary people are afraid of black men. The result is the Chokehold: laws and practices that treat every African American man like a thug. In this explosive new book, an African American former federal prosecutor shows that the system is working exactly the way it's supposed to. Black men are always under watch, and police violence is widespread--all with the support of judges and politicians.
Shielded from Justice by Allyson Collins
Call Number: HV8141 .S48 1998
ISBN: 1564321835
Publication Date: 1998-07-01
Mirage of Police Reform by Robert E. Worden; Sarah J. McLean
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 9780520965966
Publication Date: 2017-05-12
"In the United States, the exercise of police authority--and the public's trust that police authority is used properly--is a recurring concern. Contemporary prescriptions for police reform hold that the public would trust the police more and feel a greater obligation to comply and cooperate if police-citizen interactions were marked by higher levels of procedural justice by police. In this book, Robert E. Worden and Sarah J. McLean argue that the procedural justice model of reform is a mirage.

Law Enforcement and Racial Justice
This research guide from the University of Minnesota Law School, brings together a variety of resources for researching issues related to policing and racial injustice.
Police Violence: Reading List
This guide is from the University of Hawaiʻi School of Law is an ongoing project designed to highlight and increase access to resources surrounding police-involved violence. New links and documents will be added as they become available.