Today, the New York City Council voted 39 to 10 to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto of a bill that establishes an inspector general for the New York Police Department. The Council passed the bill in June with an overwhelming majority. Mayor Bloomberg vetoed the bill a month later.
An inspector general for the NYPD will enable police to work better, more efficiently, and in a manner that fully respects the civil rights of the city’s diverse communities.
“All New Yorkers should be pleased that the City Council has taken the long-overdue step of establishing independent oversight of the police department,” said Faiza Patel, Co-Director of the Liberty and National Security Program. “The experience of the federal government and major police departments around the country has shown that this type of oversight makes police more effective in their jobs and helps build critical trust with communities. The NYPD should commit to working with the inspector general in order to improve its operations and repair its frayed relations with minority communities in the city.”
The Brennan Center advocated for an inspector general in a 2012 report, “A Proposal for an NYPD Inspector General.” Recent fact sheets from the Center also explain the function, structure, and purpose of an inspector general and debunk misconceptions.