Justice Department Launches Investigation Into NYPD’s Troubled Special Victims Division The probe will assess whether the SVD engages in a “pattern or practice of gender-biased policing," according to the DOJ. Meg O'Connor
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
New York Moves A Step Closer To Decriminalizing Sex Work After organizing to repeal the “walking while trans” ban, advocates in the state—and around the country—are looking ahead to the next fight. Bryce Covert
NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints. Ali Winston
Policing Studies Measure Benefits To Crime Reduction—But Not Social Costs Research has shown only that police can be sufficient, not that they are necessary. John Pfaff
Tiffany Cabán: Why I Am Running For New York City Council In the face of a pandemic and police violence, elected leaders have failed to keep us safe and to champion the voices of marginalized communities like mine. Now it is time to determine our own future. Tiffany Cabán
Prosecutors Are Using Gang Laws To Criminalize Protest Prosecutors in states ranging from New York to Utah are using decades-old gang laws to target participants in the largest uprising against police brutality in U.S. history. Ali Winston
NYPD Expands Use Of Controversial Subpoenas To Criminal Cases Administrative subpoenas—which do not require a judge’s approval—are typically used for the department’s internal investigations, but The Appeal has learned that they are being used in criminal cases. Ali Winston
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
‘It’s Feudalism, Pure Exploitation’ The Doe Fund says it pays homeless and formerly incarcerated people New York City’s minimum wage of $15 per hour. But the nonprofit charges weekly fees that can drive their wages below the federal minimum of $7.25. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko
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
Legal Experts Question Use Of Federal Law To Prosecute Torching Of Empty NYPD Patrol Car During Protests Federal prosecutors argue that damaging a police vehicle is a violation of federal statutes in part because the police department receives federal funding. Former prosecutors and law professors say it’s an absurd rationale driven by politics of the Justice Department. Jerry Iannelli
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
Police Departments Have Failed Black And Latinx Communities. It Will Take Deliberate Work To Earn Back Their Trust. The use of excessive force against nonwhite communities and people protesting police brutality is further eroding public confidence in policing. Ellison Berryhill
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
New Documentary Reveals Silicon Valley’s Role in Notorious Bronx Gang Raid On the pretext of conducting ‘transnational gang operations,’ ICE raids have swept up thousands of U.S. citizens. Simon Davis-Cohen
The Carceral Kings of New York As COVID-19 spreads, Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio are slashing budgets, but leaving funding for police and prisons largely untouched. Ross Barkan
Washington, D.C. Continues Low-level Arrests Amid Pandemic The Metropolitan Police Department has discussed reducing arrests, but it has not formally announced any policy changes. Jon Campbell
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
Stop-And-Frisk Made Michael Bloomberg A Big Target In The Presidential Debate. His Opponents Still Missed. Advocates say the narrowing field of Democratic candidates did not seize an opportunity to lay out clear visions on criminal justice reform to contrast the former New York City mayor’s record on policing. Aaron Morrison
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
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
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
‘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
Legislation on New York City’s Sprawling Systems of Surveillance Finally Gets A Hearing A City Council Committee considers a bill on NYPD surveillance today. Ali Winston
Community Policing Is Not the Answer Investing billions of government dollars into programs that embed police in Black communities will not reduce police violence, nor repair years of injustice. Philip V. McHarris
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
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
New York City Voters May Expand Power of Civilian Review Board, Allowing It to Investigate Police Who Lie If passed, Question 2 would also allow the board to force police commissioners to provide more insight into disciplinary decisions. Aaron Morrison
New York Subway Police Make Us Less Safe Recent violent arrests in the city subways should make New Yorkers question the push by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the MTA to hire 500 new transit police. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
When Prosecutors Bury Police Lies Court records and interviews with former prosecutors show that internal assessments of police dishonesty are rarely memorialized, potentially violating the rights of people charged in criminal cases and sometimes keeping the records of bad cops clean. George Joseph, Ali Winston
Convicted Of A Deadly Crime As A Teen, He Worked For Decades To Get A Second Chance At Life Richard Rivera served more than 38 years in prison after killing an off-duty NYPD officer during a botched armed robbery. He was released in July after being denied parole five times. Aaron Morrison
‘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
Painting a Distorted Picture of Crime ‘Spikes’ in New York City Murder rates are at an all-time low in Brooklyn, but one would hardly know it reading the New York Times. Adam H. Johnson
‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan
New York City’s Homeless Diversion Program is ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ Reform, Advocates Say A new effort to reduce arrests and summonses is criticized as continuing to criminalize homelessness. Raven Rakia
Media Frame: Stop Quoting Bill Bratton For far too long, the press has leaned on wrong-headed tough-on-crime officials like the former NYPD commissioner when reporting on the criminal legal system. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
The Appeal Podcast: Reframing The Bronx 120 Raid With City University of New York law professor Babe Howell Adam H. Johnson
Incarceration Is Always a Policy Failure Instead of building ‘humane jails’ to replace Rikers Island, let’s push the NYPD to cut down on arrests. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Bronx Cops Celebrated A Copwatcher’s Arrest. They Had No Idea They Were Caught On Tape. New York City just paid Jose LaSalle of the Copwatch Patrol Unit nearly $900,000 over claims of false arrest related to the 2016 incident, but his fight for justice is far from over. Ashoka Jegroo
The Appeal Podcast: NYPD-SVU’s Low Clearance Rate for Sexual Assault With Appeal contributor Meg O’Connor Adam H. Johnson
‘They Sent Him to His Cell to Die’ Rashad McNulty entered a guilty plea in a series of federal gang indictments in New York that have been criticized as racist and overly punitive. But before McNulty was even sentenced, he died in jail. Now, his family is seeking justice. Aaron Morrison
‘It Was Almost Worse Than The Incident Itself’ New NYPD data show that in 2018 the department closed nearly 500 rape cases due to an alleged lack of participation from victims and had a declining clearance rate for rape, raising questions over its handling of sexual assault. Meg O'Connor
The Appeal Presents: Raided A new documentary explores the notorious ‘Bronx 120’ raid—and what it says about the evolution of policing in New York City. Simon Davis-Cohen
The Appeal Podcast: The Long, Troubled History of Gravity Knife Prosecution With Appeal contributor Jon Campbell Adam H. Johnson
What Happens Before Police Press ‘Record’? Critics say New York’s new interrogation recording law falls short. Curtis Stephen
Years After Protests, NYPD Retains Photos of Black Lives Matter Activists The records raise questions about the department’s compliance with its protest monitoring rules. George Joseph
Judge Attacks NYPD Practice of Seizing Teens’ DNA Without Parental Consent The decision also held that the city’s routine storage of DNA profiles from nonconvicted people in a permanent database violates state law. George Joseph
Is The NYPD’s Special Victims Division Prematurely Closing Sexual Assault Cases? Advocates say victims are being pressured to sign ‘withdrawal’ forms to quickly close investigations and protect the department from legal liability. Meg O'Connor
NYPD Commander’s Text Messages Show How the Quota System Persists Officers say the language used now is more subtle but still encourages numbers-driven policing. George Joseph
NYPD Unit That Monitored Proud Boys Event Has Troubled History The Strategic Response Group was created for counter-terrorism but it's involved in everything from Broken Windows policing to suppressing protest. Ashoka Jegroo
Facing Lawsuit, NYPD Changes How Officers Use Sealed Arrest Data Arrests that result in dropped charges and dismissals are supposed to be sealed. But until recently, the NYPD used these records to target turnstile jumpers. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph
Public Defenders Say New York’s New Policy To Reduce Marijuana Arrests Doesn’t Go Far Enough The exceptions to the policy change could actually worsen the racial disparities in marijuana-related arrests, defense attorneys told The Appeal. Raven Rakia
Why Is New York Still Paying Eric Garner’s Killer Six Figures? Daniel Pantaleo remains with the NYPD four years after Garner's death. Raven Rakia
Exclusive: Leaked Police Interview Reveals Key Evidence That a Bronx Judge Has Barred in Upcoming Murder Trial Brian Solano spent over two years on Rikers Island before a potentially exonerating NYPD video interview was disclosed to his defense attorney. But that video is now being excluded from his June trial. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph
Eyewitness to Bronx Murder Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct, Makes Eleventh-Hour Recantation But the witness may have flipped again, leaving the future of the conviction up in the air. Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph
Police Accountability and Public Defender Groups Demand Transparency on NYPD Gang Policing Max Rivlin-Nadler
Activists Fight Back After NYPD Turns Prosecutor To Avoid Civil Suits Max Rivlin-Nadler, Ashoka Jegroo
Family, Former Attorney of Queens Woman Who Fell to Her Death in Vice Sting Say She Was Sexually Assaulted, Pressured to Become an Informant Melissa Gira Grant, Emma Whitford
After Deadly Vice Sting, Advocates Say End to Prostitution Arrests Is Long Overdue Emma Whitford, Melissa Gira Grant
NYPD is one delete button away from losing its civil forfeiture records Criminal charges are absent from 85 percent of all forfeiture cases in the city. Carimah Townes
