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De Blasio's New Police Reinvention Plan Falls Short Of Real Reform, Critics Say
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Jake Offenhartz
Published Mar 12, 2021
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Mar 12, 2021
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Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his latest reform plan for the NYPD on Friday, a blend of commitments and aspirations that range from hiring more cops who live in the five boroughs to "undoing the legacy and harm of racialized policing."
The blueprint comes ahead of a state order, issued in the wake of last year's protest against racist policing, directing all New York municipalities to "reinvent and modernize" their police department by next month.
The 26-page plan — the second of two plans put out by the Mayor's Office — is centered on a series of lofty ambitions, including decriminalizing poverty, creating a more "resilient" NYPD, and improving department accountability.
It calls for the creation of a new reconciliation process, developed in conjunction with the restorative justice scholars, "to champion a reparative justice policy in response to the legacy of racially motivated policing." And it promises that the department will strengthen its relationship with immigrant communities, particularly the Muslim community.
At a press conference on Friday, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea praised the blueprint, saying that it continued the "steady pace" of reform that began when de Blasio took office seven years ago.
But, as with the mayor's other recent overtures aimed at improving public trust in the department, the plan was derided by transparency advocates as incremental, and lacking the specifics necessary to usher in real change.
"These are noble goals and include the right words, but there is little in the way of action plans or benchmarks," Jeffrey Fagan, a law professor at Columbia University who specializes in police accountability and criminal law, told Gothamist.
Among the shortcomings, Fagan noted, is the lack of concrete reform to the NYPD's current disciplinary process. In the report, the mayor promises a "360 degree performance review to identify at risk officers who may be eligible for intervention," adding that the NYPD will "assess the currently available interventions to determine if they are effective."
The city will also "assess the possibility" of expanding the jurisdiction of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the independent watchdog group whose discipline recommendations are regularly ignored by the police commissioner. De Blasio has promised that new disciplinary guidelines will address that issue, but has opposed a City Council bill that would strip the police commissioner of final disciplinary authority.
Perhaps the most significant initiatives promised by the report entail changes beyond the scope of the NYPD. The report calls for a pilot program, first proposed by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, to create a mentorship program connecting violence interrupters with young New Yorkers at risk of gun violence.
The mayor will also issue an executive order requiring city agencies provide unspecified "health and human services" to individuals and families impacted by the criminal justice system.
The report comes one week after de Blasio issued the first phase of his "reform and reinvention plan," which focused on strengthening the bond between communities and the department, and promised to increase transparency through a new online database of officers disciplinary history. That database was widely criticized for failing to show the full spectrum of misconduct allegations against NYPD officers.
Michael Sisitzky, senior policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, described both iterations of the mayor's reform plan as hollow rhetoric that would do little to change the department's practices.
"This administration has learned nothing from the past year of protests and demands for accountability and actual changes that reduce the size, scope and power of NYPD," Sisitzky told Gothamist. "At this point there is no one in the leadership position in the administration that is actually committed to doing the work necessary to redefine community safety in New York city."
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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