POLICE MODERNIZATION

It’s election season so no one should be surprised that partisans are throwing fear of crime into the mix.  The Police Modernization Bill, initiated by the Binghamton Human Rights Commission, would codify documentation of police encounters by ethnicity, would create training in cultural sensitivity, and encourage for diversification of the police force. It is similar to legislation in other cities where the relationship between police and minorities has created inequities. Even top cop YC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has favored the esentials called for in this legislation.

The police union opposed the bill and spread disinformation that police will no longer be able to respond to information provided by the victim of a crime and will no longer be able to present suspects to crime victims for identification.  According to Sean Massey of the Human Rights Commission, “These statements are completely false and this memo appears to be an unfortunate scare tactic intended to shift public support away from passage of the law.”

Support for the police is the third rail of GOP politics and also a handy bludger to scare the electorate.  An eleventh hour mailing by Joe Mihalko illustrates this perfectly, calling supporters of the bill “special interests” even though it has enjoyed widespread community support. “Bad policy”, “handcuffing the police” are other phrases employed to scare people.

Massey and Democratic council people have acknowledged that the bill may need tweaking to be sure that it doesn’t hamper police, but the opportunity for fear mongering was too convenient.

Sadly, fear mongering has had great success nationally and locally. The best way to prove that it doesn’t work is to not be frightened of legislation that hasn’t even been written.

An Attempt to Scare Residents and Prevent Passage of the Bill?

Binghamton, NY — Misinformation is being spread by the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the police union, about the content of the Police Modernization Law being considered by the Binghamton City Council.  The public, including many human services and advocacy organizations and religious leaders, has demonstrated strong support for this legislation, and it has the support of a majority of city council members.  This week, however, a memo from the PBA was circulated among the rank and file members, residents and business owners on Binghamton’s West Side stating that if the law is passed, police will no longer be able to respond to information provided by the victim of a crime and will no longer be able to present suspects to crime victims for identification.  These statements are completely false and this memo appears to be an unfortunate scare tactic intended to shift public support away from passage of the law.

In addition to the memo, it has been reported that some Binghamton police officers are telling residents that the law will require them, during minor traffic stops, to ask intrusive questions about their religion and sexual orientation. These statements are also completely untrue.  The law does not require the police to ask anyone about anything.  

What the law does say is that racial profiling and bias-based policing are wrong and illegal and that a person's race alone cannot be used to assign suspicion.  The law still allows police to use race as part of the description of a suspect as long as they have probable cause to believe that the suspect (of that particular race) is linked to specific illegal activity.  What the law does do is establish the following priorities: tracking, analysis and reporting of data collected during standard police investigations; cultural competency and anti-bias training for our officers; and development of a plan to diversify the police force.  And it allows the specific plans for implementation of these priorities to be developed over 6 months, through dialogue and cooperation among the police, city leaders, and the community.  These are all proactive and positive measures to provide our officers the resources and support they need to build trust between the police and residents of color in our community and to prevent a racially charged tragedy, like we’ve seen in the national headlines, from happening in our city.

The Police Administration has stated on multiple occasions that the Binghamton police do not racially profile.  We applaud their commitment to fairness and justice, and ask: if they do not racially profile, why are they so opposed to a law making racial profiling illegal?

The current draft of the legislation can be found here on the City of Binghamton website: http://www.binghamton-ny.gov/city-council-business-meeting-61 or at tinyurl.com/PoliceModernizationAct.

There will be a Public Hearing on the Police Modernization Law (LL15-2) on Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at 6:30pm in City Council Chambers.

Broome-Tioga NAACP, Urban League of Broome County, and Broome County YWCA call for passage of the Police Modernization law

June 17, 2015 – Binghamton, NY – Tonight at the Binghamton City Council Business meeting representatives from the Broome Tioga NAACP, the Urban League of Broome County and the Broome County YWCA will read statements during the public comment session endorsing the Police Modernization Law currently being discussed in the Municipal and Public Affairs Committee.

The legislation, drafted by the Binghamton Human Rights Commission, which has been in committee since February, has four objectives: (1) to affirm that racial profiling by law enforcement is illegal in the City of Binghamton; (2) mandate the tracking, analysis and reporting of all traffic and pedestrian stops by the police; (3) mandate comprehensive annual in-service cultural competency, implicit bias, and procedural justice training of local law enforcement; and (4) require the police administration to develop and present a plan to diversify the department.  Once moved to the floor, a series of public hearings will be scheduled.

The right of the Binghamton City Council to pass legislation related to police conduct, such as the Police Modernization Law, is supported by New York State law.  This was confirmed by the New York Civil Liberties Union in a conversation with the Binghamton Human Rights Commission.  They stated “the home rule provision of the New York State Constitution confers broad police power on local governments to legislate to address local affairs and government issues as long as it does not conflict with the Constitution or a state law” and pointed to New York City’s Community Safety Act (a law banning racial profiling by the NYPD) as a precedent.  The Community Safety Act, which was signed into law in January 2014, goes beyond the reforms being proposed by the Police Modernization Law and was endorsed by over 100 human services and civil rights organizations (many of them state-wide and national).

Binghamton City Council’s business meeting starts at 6:30pm in City Council Chambers at Binghamton City Hall.  

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Other Resources

Several organizations have issued statements or guidelines for drafting and passage of laws related to bias-based policing and racial profiling.  For example:

The NAACP and Amnesty International have suggested that such a law should include:

1.    A comprehensive effective ban on racial profiling.
2.    Bans on pre-textual stops (those instances in which police use minor/common traffic violations to inquire about drugs, guns, or other breaches of the law) of pedestrians and motorists.
3.    Criminalizes violations of the racial profiling ban and specify penalties for officers who repeatedly engage in racial profiling.
4.    Mandatory data collection for all stops and all searches (traffic and pedestrian)
5.    Data analysis and publication of the data collected to complaints of racial profiling and regularly publish results of racial profiling investigations.
6.    An independent commission to review and respond to complaints of racial profiling and regularly publish results of racial profiling investigations.
7.    Allows for individuals to seek court orders to stop individual departments from continuing to engage in racial profiling.
8.    Provide funds for periodically retraining officers and installing in-car video cameras for monitoring traffic stops.

The National Urban League has called for:

1.    Widespread use of body cameras and dashboard cameras
2.    Broken windows reform and implementation of 21st century community policing model
3.     Review and revision of police use of deadly force policies
4.     Comprehensive retraining of all police officers
5.    Comprehensive review and strengthening of police hiring standards
6.    Appointment of special prosecutors to investigate police misconduct
7.    Mandatory, uniform FBI reporting and audit of lethal force incidents involving all law enforcement
8.    Creation and audit of national citizen database of complaints against police
9.    Adoption of national police accreditation system for mandatory use by law enforcement to be eligible for federal funds
10.    National comprehensive anti-racial profiling law
 
Quotes

 “A diverse law enforcement agency can better develop relationships with the community it serves, promote trust in the fairness of law enforcement, and facilitate effective policing by encouraging citizen support and cooperation. Law enforcement agencies should seek to hire a diverse workforce.”
 
-U.S. Department of Justice
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/Diversity_in_Law_Enforcement_Literature_Review.pdf

“Ban racial profiling by the police… [and] mandate that all police departments collect and report data on a quarterly basis on police shootings, and other deaths in custody, as well as stops, frisks, searches, citations, arrests, and uses of force.”

– American Civil Liberties Union
https://action.aclu.org/secure/DOJ-racial-profiling

 “The NBPA also support legislation that holds the governmental entity, its police department and offending officers liable for violating the civil rights of our citizenry. The NBPA also supports mandated and uniform data collection and analysis to research and abate adverse impact; educate the police and the public and to develop policy and procedures designed to correct and discipline deviance.”

-National Black Police Association
http://www.blackpolice.org/positions.html