The Right To Know Act is a legislative package that aims to protect the civil and human rights of New Yorkers while promoting communication, transparency and accountability in everyday interactions between the NYPD and the public. New Yorkers want to live in a safe city where the police treat all residents with dignity and respect, and where police are not considered to be above the law.
In July 2016, the New York Times reported that NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito had agreed to a deal with then-NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton in an attempt to prevent a vote on the Right to Know Act. The deal removed some of the most important protections of the Right to Know Act, including policies explicitly prioritized by the White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and its underlying foundation of accountability. The following fact sheet includes some of these key distinctions and further demonstrates why the NYC Council must pass the Right To Know Act to ensure meaningful and lasting reforms to protect all New Yorkers.
The broken windows policing policy came into existence nationwide in the early 80s, with the intent to reduce criminal activity in what were known as "disruptive environments.'
To speak on the dated and problematic nature of the policies are Alex Vitale, a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, Nahal Zamani, Program Manager at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Anthonine Pierre, Community Organizer at the Brooklyn Movement Center.
Police-community relations are once again among the top stories nationwide, from Charlotte to Tulsa to Columbus to the presidential debate stage, where Donald Trump spoke passionately, if veryinaccurately, about stop-and-frisk in New York City.
Police-community relations are once again among the top stories nationwide, from Charlotte to Tulsa to Columbus. In New York, the recent debate has been not just about what police reform is needed, but how it should be done.
A bill introduced by City Council Member Dan Garodnick to require the NYPD to publish its patrol guide online will be heard for the first time by the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety next week.
A hotly contested measure that would obligate cops give their name, rank and command during most routine stops now has enough backers it could theoretically override a veto by Mayor Bill de Blasio—if his ally Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito would ever let it get a vote on the City Council floor.
Utah, a state where even regular beer is considered too intoxicating, has made possession of heroin or cocaine a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Mississippi has reduced its prison population by 15 percent with new legislation.
Several states have decriminalized marijuana for recreational use. More than a half-dozen states have passed laws restricting the use of cellphone-tracking technology by the police.