Establishes the office of law enforcement professional standards within the division of criminal justice services; requires the commissioner of criminal justice services to appoint a director of such office; outlines the duties and functions of such office; establishes policies and procedures to prohibit traffic stops that result in the stopping, detention or search of any person when such action is solely motivated by considerations of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender or sexual orientation and the action would constitute a violation of the civil rights of the person.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9602
IN ASSEMBLY
March 20, 2012
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the
office of law enforcement professional standards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-aa
2 to read as follows:
3 § 837-aa. Office of law enforcement professional standards. 1. As used
4 in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Director" shall mean the director of the office of law enforce-
6 ment professional standards.
7 (b) "Office" shall mean the office of law enforcement professional
8 standards.
9 2. Creation of the office. (a) There is hereby created in the division
10 of criminal justice services an office of law enforcement professional
11 standards which shall perform such administrative, investigative, policy
12 and training oversight, and monitoring functions, as the commissioner
13 shall direct, to assure and maintain the integrity of law enforcement
14 activities and to provide assistance to law enforcement entities state-
15 wide, including but not limited to, establishing policies and procedures
16 to prohibit traffic stops that result in the stopping, detention or
17 search of any person when such action is solely motivated by consider-
18 ations of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender or sexual
19 orientation, and the action would constitute a violation of the civil
20 rights of the person.
21 (b) The office shall take appropriate steps to promote and ensure
22 compliance with the general policy that prohibits racial profiling in
23 selecting vehicles for traffic stops, or in deciding upon the scope and
24 substance of post-stop actions.
25 (c) The commissioner shall appoint a director of the office of law
26 enforcement professional standards. Such person shall have education,
27 experience or professional background in the fields of law, investi-
28 gation, criminal practice and administration.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11956-03-1
A. 9602 2
1 (d) The director, may with the approval of the commissioner, organize
2 the work of the office into such bureaus and other organizational units
3 as may be necessary. The commissioner may assign to the office such
4 employees of the division as may be necessary.
5 (e) All law enforcement agencies operating under the authority of the
6 law of the state of New York shall cooperate and aid the office in the
7 performance of its duties.
8 3. Duties and functions of the office. (a) (1) The office shall
9 promulgate a written policy for traffic stops that shall be adopted by
10 every local and state police department that prohibits in regard to
11 traffic stops, the stopping, detention or search of any person when such
12 action is solely motivated by considerations of race, color, ethnicity,
13 national origin, age, gender or sexual orientation, and the action would
14 constitute a violation of the civil rights of the person.
15 (2) The office shall develop a written form that each municipal police
16 department, sheriff's office, and the division of state police shall
17 use, to record and retain the following information: (i) the number of
18 persons stopped for traffic violations; (ii) characteristics of race,
19 color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation and age of
20 such persons, provided the identification of such characteristics shall
21 be based on the observation and perception of the police officer respon-
22 sible for reporting the stop and the information shall not be required
23 to be provided by the person stopped; (iii) the nature of the alleged
24 traffic violation that resulted in the stop; (iv) whether a warning or
25 citation was issued, an arrest made or a search conducted as a result of
26 the stop; and (v) any additional information that such municipal police
27 department, sheriff's office, or the division of state police, as the
28 case may be, deems appropriate.
29 (3) Each municipal police department, sheriff's office, and the divi-
30 sion of state police shall provide to the office: (i) a copy of each
31 complaint received pursuant to this section; and (ii) written notifica-
32 tion of the review and disposition of such complaint.
33 (b) (1) The office shall set up a procedure to receive, review, and
34 investigate complaints by citizens that state and local law enforcement
35 engaged in a stop, detention or search of such person, or the citizen
36 was a witness to such stop, detention or search, when such action was
37 solely motivated by considerations of race, color, ethnicity, national
38 origin, age, gender or sexual orientation, and the action would consti-
39 tute a violation of the civil rights of the person.
40 (2) (A) State and local law enforcement agencies shall notify the
41 office of all complaints received from citizens that state and local law
42 enforcement engaged in a stop, detention or search of such person, or
43 the citizen was a witness to such stop, detention or search, when such
44 action was solely motivated by considerations of race, color, ethnicity,
45 national origin, age, gender or sexual orientation, and the action would
46 constitute a violation of the civil rights of the person to the office.
47 (B) State and local law enforcement agencies shall inform the office
48 of the outcome of such complaints upon completion of investigation.
49 (3) After the office completes its investigation of such complaints or
50 when the office finds any indication of wrongdoing the complaint shall
51 be referred to the state and local law enforcement internal affairs
52 bureau and any other actions deemed appropriate by the director.
53 (c) The office shall be authorized to conduct operational audits and
54 independent analyses of data, including such data as collected pursuant
55 to subdivision two of this section and other data as necessary and
56 appropriate, to identify any potential disparity in enforcement and
A. 9602 3
1 systemic problems that may exist that affect motor vehicle stops and
2 post-stop enforcement actions, training provided to law enforcement
3 officials, investigations of alleged misconduct, any other matters that
4 may affect the integrity of New York state and local law enforcement
5 agencies and departments and shall make recommendations for appropriate
6 actions.
7 (d) The office shall have timely access to all data and other records
8 maintained by the state and local law enforcement agencies that are
9 deemed necessary by the director to conduct independent analyses and to
10 perform the functions authorized by this section. Nothing in this
11 section shall be deemed to require the disclosure of records or data in
12 violation of any constitutional or statutory privacy protections or any
13 collective bargaining rights.
14 4. Authority of the office. The office shall have the specific author-
15 ity to perform the following functions:
16 (a) review the procedures and implementation related to state and
17 local law enforcement agencies concerning motor vehicle stops and post-
18 stop enforcement actions, supervision of patrol activities, training
19 provided to law enforcement members assigned to patrol duties and the
20 conduct of investigations of alleged misconduct and other internal
21 affairs;
22 (b) monitor, review and evaluate the quality and timeliness of the
23 state and local law enforcement agencies' conduct of investigation of
24 alleged misconduct, disciplinary actions and interventions, supervisory
25 actions, reports, motor vehicle stop reports and logs and supervisory
26 reviews relating to racial profiling;
27 (c) approve the curricula, prescribe trainer qualifications, and
28 review and develop training of state and local law enforcement members
29 on cultural awareness, law enforcement ethics and leadership, constitu-
30 tional law pertaining to arrest, search and seizure, equal protection,
31 and other relevant law enforcement issues the director deems necessary
32 or appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this section; and
33 (d) review all state and local law enforcement agencies' internal
34 affairs investigations and dispositions, including any decision by an
35 agency not to refer a complaint, from a citizen or other source, to the
36 office to ascertain whether law enforcement agencies have complied with
37 applicable operating procedures, whether the outcomes of those investi-
38 gations are supported by the evidence, whether any discipline imposed
39 was appropriate and make recommendations to the attorney general for
40 appropriate remedial action.
41 In order for a local or state law enforcement agency to complete
42 accreditation requirements, law enforcement officers of such agency must
43 complete a training as developed by the division in relation to prohib-
44 iting racial profiling.
45 5. Reports. (a) The office shall prepare annual public reports that
46 include aggregate statistics on state and local law enforcement activ-
47 ities and procedures and aggregate data on race, color, ethnicity,
48 national origin, gender, sexual orientation and age of such persons
49 involved in the traffic stop. These reports shall include aggregate
50 statistics on the number of motor vehicle stops, reason for stops,
51 enforcement actions, including but not limited to, citations, warnings
52 and arrests, number of searches conducted, and the use of force. The
53 reports shall also include aggregate statistics of the number of crimi-
54 nal charges filed, contraband seizures and wanted persons taken into
55 custody as a result of motor vehicle stops.
A. 9602 4
1 (b) The office shall prepare annual reports providing aggregate data
2 regarding misconduct investigations and the number of external, inter-
3 nal, and total complaints received and the disposition of those
4 complaints.
5 (c) The commissioner shall, on an annual basis, report to the governor
6 and the legislature on the implementation of this section.
7 (d) The report and statistics shall be published on the division's
8 website.
9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
10 the date on which it shall have become a law.
