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.”
Read the report here.
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The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), is the nation’s first and foremost civil rights law organization. The Bronx Defenders (BxD) is a public defense office that provides holistic defense to low-income people of the Bronx, which include criminal defense, family defense, immigration defense, civil legal services, and social work support and advocacy. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is a national, nonprofit legal, educational, and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting and advancing rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and international law. The Legal Aid Society (Legal Aid) works to ensure that no New Yorker is denied their right to equal justice because of poverty. For over 140 years, Legal aid has protected, defended, and advocated for those that have struggled in silence – working on the front-lines and behind-the-scenes to offer clients the exceptional legal services they deserve.
