Read a PDF of our statement here.

Today, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) joined Anthony and Denise Scott, the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM), the ACLU of South Carolina, and Charleston Black Lives Matter in sending a letter to the nonprofit research organization CNA as well as to the North Charleston, South Carolina Mayor and City Council. The letter urges CNA, which was tasked to conduct a Racial Bias Assessment of the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), to make recommendations that effectively end the NCPD’s racially disparate policing practices. The letter also outlines how the city of North Charleston has a unique opportunity to address and remedy years of racially discriminatory policing. It further describes the urgent need for CNA and the City to engage the community to identify the causes of disparate policing practices, and recommend effective remedies to eliminate the sources of racial bias.

On July 19, 2021, CNA published its preliminary report outlining its conclusions and recommendations based on data and information that it reviewed. In its report, CNA recognized that NCPD officers disproportionately stop, cite, arrest, and use force against Black residents, but more must be done to ensure that the processes employed during the audit and in implementing recommendations are sufficient to achieve the aims of the audit and equitable public safety practices in North Charleston.

The coalition seeks the following:

  • CNA and the City Must Engage More of the North Charleston Community To Guide the Audit and Measure its Success
  • CNA should assess racial bias in deployment decisions and propose remedies to decrease over-policing of communities of color.
  • CNA should evaluate racial disparities in specific types of arrests and propose alternative responders for calls involving people in crisis, experiencing homelessness, and other areas.
  • CNA should evaluate data regarding the actions of School Resource Officers to assess racial bias towards North Charleston youth and recommend that NCPD limit officers’ interaction with youth to prevent their involvement in the criminal legal system.
  • CNA should thoroughly evaluate NCPD’s administrative investigation system and disciplinary process and make recommendations to ensure NCPD’s complaint intake process is accessible, investigations are thorough, and discipline is appropriate for the offense.
  • CNA should be responsive to the calls of North Charleston’s residents for an effective community oversight mechanism and accountability system.
  • CNA should recommend that the City require NCPD to regularly publish data regarding its officers’ activities, disclose the technologies it uses, and require public input before acquiring new technology
  • An Independent Body, Responsive to Public Input, Should be Formed to Oversee the Implementation of the Recommendations

The letter requests that CNA fully identify all sources of racial bias in NCPD and adopt effective remedies to eliminate racial disparities and create a more accountable public safety system in North Charleston.

Read the letter here.                                                                                               

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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.

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