May, 16 2018, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund: David Jacobs, DJacobs@naacpldf.org, 212-965-2255
Bronx Defenders: Anna Kim, annakim@bronxdefenders.org, 718-838-7890
Center for Constitutional Rights: Jen Nessel, jnessel@ccrjustice.org, 212-614-6449
Legal Aid Society: Redmond Haskins, rhaskins@legal-aid.org, 929-441-2384
Leading Civil Rights Organizations' Statement on Release of Report on Community Reforms to NYPD Practices
WASHINGTON
Today, a court-appointed facilitator, Ariel Belen, issued a report on community-generated reforms to New York City Police Department (NYPD) stop-and-frisk and trespass arrest practices that were developed as part of the Joint Remedial Process. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. (LDF), The Bronx Defenders, The Center for Constitutional Rights, and The Legal Aid Society represented plaintiffs in the three city-wide class action lawsuits that successfully challenged the NYPD's unlawful and racially biased stop-and-frisk and trespass enforcement practices, and together the organizations issued the following statement on the Joint Remedial Process report:
"After years of work soliciting community input on reforms to NYPD stop-and-frisk and trespass arrest practices, Ariel Belen, the facilitator of the Joint Remedial Process, has just issued his report on the changes proposed by those most impacted by the department's practices: New York City residents. On June 8, we will be asking the court to order the NYPD to implement changes to discipline, monitoring, and supervision that reflect the community's input and that will ensure long-lasting reform. We will say more then, but for now, it is vital to reiterate the importance of implementing community-generated reforms. No one knows better what the NYPD must urgently fix than the people who spent decades being victimized by its unconstitutional policing practices. If the NYPD truly wants to turn over a new leaf and build trust with those it serves, it must swiftly work to enact the changes developed based on the input of those people."
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
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