Today, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to withdrawn the city’s appeal of a judge’s decision ordering reforms to the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) stop-and-frisk practices. Faiza Patel, co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security program and lead author of A Proposal for an NYPD Inspector General, issued the following statement.
“We are pleased to see Mayor de Blasio keep his promise to reform the city’s stop-and-frisk program,” Patel said. “The NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program has unfairly targeted communities of color for too long. We hope that the Mayor’s first step against discriminatory policing extends to all New Yorkers and that he will soon take steps to end the NYPD’s Muslim surveillance program.”
The Brennan Center advocated for an independent inspector general for the NYPD in a 2012 report, A Proposal for an NYPD Inspector General. In 2013, the City Council passed legislation establishing an inspector general for the NYPD, to be part of the Department of Investigation. At a hearing before the City Council today, the Mayor’s nominee for the Commissioner of the Department of Investigation, Mark Peters, strongly supported this initiative and promised that the office would be fully resourced and independent.
For more information or to set up an interview with Faiza Patel, contact Seth Hoy at seth.hoy@nyu.edu or (646) 292–8369.