How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims
Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases.
Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021
America’s Largest Police Department Is Neglecting Rape Cases
The Appeal is back and we’re worker-run. We’re excited to bring you the fifth edition of our weekly newsletter as we continue to work toward an official relaunch. Today, we also published our first story in a series of pieces we’ll be publishing in the coming weeks as we continue rebuilding and working toward an […]
Meg O'Connor Nov 02, 2021
What New York City’s Next Mayor Can Do to Solve the Homelessness Crisis
Creating a commission and a new deputy mayor of housing will give directly impacted people a much-needed voice in government—and help ensure a right to housing for all.
Shams DaBaron Apr 13, 2021
Don’t Delay on Closing Rikers
The city says COVID-19 budget constraints will set back its plans to close the jail but people incarcerated there are suffering from the disease right now.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Dec 17, 2020
What ‘Defund The Police’ Means In A New York Neighborhood With High Homicide Rates and a History of Struggling for Justice
Although there’s a diversity of views about law enforcement in Brownsville, Brooklyn, there’s widespread agreement that the community is still fighting to obtain all the resources it needs to thrive and police itself.
Abigail Savitch-Lew Aug 19, 2020
After Woman’s Arrest in Unmarked Van, New York City Activists Fear Targeting by NYPD
Protesters believe law enforcement is looking for retribution after police arrested a woman Tuesday night and placed her in an unmarked van, a callback to recent events in Portland, Oregon.
Chris Gelardi Jul 29, 2020
Amid Calls to Reform Police, New York Activists and Lawmakers Demand An Elected Civilian Complaint Review Board
A representative board is needed to check the power of the NYPD and appropriately discipline officers for misconduct, they argue.
Amir Khafagy Jun 29, 2020
The NYPD ‘Cancelled’ Police Court Appearances, Leaving People to Sit in Jail
Memos obtained by The Appeal and anecdotes from public defenders reveal how, for a week during protests over police brutality, the NYPD stalled cases by directing officers not to testify in court.
Chris Gelardi Jun 12, 2020
New York Legislators Pledge to Reject Campaign Donations From Law Enforcement
State Assembly members, senators, and city council members have said they will decline and donate funds from police and corrections officers as New Yorkers fill the streets to protest recent violence by law enforcement.
Bryce Covert Jun 02, 2020
Policing Coronavirus
As infections and deaths mount, state leaders and law enforcement are turning to tough-on-crime tactics in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Jessica Pishko Apr 07, 2020
New York City Agency Has Underreported Lab Errors In DNA Database It Oversees
At least one error led to a wrongful arrest, according to a Freedom of Information Law request, underscoring the need for better oversight of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, advocates say.
Aaron Morrison Feb 24, 2020
Michael Bloomberg’s Stop-and-Frisk Legacy Came Back to Haunt Him This Week
As old audio clips of Bloomberg defending the controversial policing policy went viral, new data showed the practice isn’t fading away in New York city.
Aaron Morrison Feb 12, 2020
New Video Of Fatal Shooting By NYPD In 2016 Raises Questions About Officer’s Account to Investigators
A civil suit claims that an officer who shot a 46-year-old stagehand in Midtown Manhattan should have de-escalated the encounter.
Jon Campbell Feb 07, 2020
New Lawsuit Is Latest Example Of Residents Seeking Accountability For Wrongful Arrests In New York City
Charges in each of four arrests of a city man were subsequently dropped. Now he has become one of a long line of New York City residents who have filed wrongful arrest lawsuits against the city.
Dawn R. Wolfe Jan 14, 2020
Internal Affairs Investigators Raid NYPD’s Special Victims Division for Third Time
Logbooks were seized as part of an inquiry into misconduct allegations against high-ranking officers in the division that investigates sex crimes.
Meg O'Connor Jan 09, 2020
‘They Can Do This To Anybody’
Misconduct complaints against officers in the NYPD’s 34th Precinct have risen for three years straight. In 2018, 15 officers had complaints against them substantiated, the most of any precinct in New York City.
Ali Winston Dec 19, 2019
Kansas City Chooses Free Public Transit
Compare this with New York where additional transit police will cost $50 million a year but a subsidized fare program cannot be fully funded.
Vaidya Gullapalli Dec 06, 2019
Hundreds of Victim and Witness DNA Profiles Removed From New York City Database
Advocates say the removals are more evidence of a troubling and unregulated law enforcement tool, overseen by the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Aaron Morrison Nov 26, 2019
Michael Bloomberg Should Apologize For More Than Stop-and-Frisk, Critics Say
The billionaire and former New York City mayor defended the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim Americans and mandatory minimum prison sentences for gun possession, among other policies.
Aaron Morrison Nov 21, 2019
It’s Time to Fight the Democratic Mayors Who Are Champions of the Carceral State
The mayors of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco wrap themselves in the language of progressivism, but when it comes to the criminal legal system they’re Trumpian.
Kelly Hayes Nov 04, 2019
Police Respond To Accountability By Threatening A Slowdown
Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. Yesterday seemed by all accounts a good day for police accountability. Scholars recently revealed that police violence is a leading cause of death for Black men, but […]
Sarah Lustbader Aug 20, 2019
‘Is This The Guy?’
Police and prosecutors claimed facial recognition technology wasn’t at the center of a shoplifting case, but defense attorneys say it was the sole basis for probable cause to arrest.
Mike Hayes Aug 20, 2019
Spending billions on policing, then millions on police misconduct
Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. In 2017, the coalition Freedom to Thrive looked at the enormous outlay on policing and incarceration across the U.S.—over $180 billion annually—contrasting it with the systemic underinvestment […]
Vaidya Gullapalli Aug 02, 2019
Manhattan D.A.’s Office Still Prosecuting People for the Knives They Carry for Work
In 2016, the office said it dismissed such cases, but Legal Aid says that’s not what’s happening.
Melissa Gira Grant Nov 26, 2018
Lawsuit: Manhattan D.A.’s Office Tracks Cops With ‘Credibility’ Problems, But Refuses To Release Its List
The office has criticized the NYPD for shielding officers’ misconduct histories, but it won’t share its own information on police dishonesty.
George Joseph, Emma Whitford Oct 22, 2018