NYPD Commissioner Bratton with officers (photo: @CommissBratton)
The City Council voted on Wednesday to pass the Criminal Justice Reform Act, a package of eight bills largely aimed at diverting low-level nonviolent offenses from criminal to civil matters.
Offenses such as public urination, littering, drinking alcohol in public, and being in a park after hours are currently enforced as criminal misdemeanors and prosecuted in criminal courts, at times resulting in permanent criminal records for offenders. Under these bills, spearheaded by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to put “more justice” into the criminal justice system, police officers will be encouraged to hand out civil fines instead of criminal summonses.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has indicated he will sign the bills, which will be enactment in a staggered fashion, giving the NYPD time to create new guidelines and train officers in the new rules. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has also given the bills his seal of approval, though he asserted throughout the two-year process of legislative negotiation that it was essential not to remove the corresponding criminal violations for the offenses and his wish was granted.
One bill, that reduces breaches of park rules from criminal misdemeanors to violations, goes partially into effect 30 days after it is signed into law. Two specific violations -- being in a park after closing and failure to comply with park signs -- will no longer be enforced as misdemeanors after those 30 days while the other provisions in the bill only take effect after a year. A bill that creates civil instead of criminal fines for public urination and littering will apply after 60 days.
The intent of the legislative package is to reduce the impact of Broken Windows policing, a system championed by Bratton under which the police department aggressively enforces low-level offenses in an effort to maintain order and preempt more serious crime. This method, critics say, disproportionately affects young men from low-income communities and communities of color.
“These bills will give our police force the tools they need to address low-level offenses for exactly what they are: infractions to be taken seriously but not ones that should yield life-altering consequences,” said Council Member Vanessa Gibson, chair of the Committee on Public Safety and sponsor of one of the bills, before the vote. The bills, she pointed out, would reduce the burden on the city’s criminal courts while reducing the “harsh penalties” given for low-level offenses to people of color and low-income communities. She stressed, though, that the legislation was not making anything legal that was illegal.
“[The CJRA] will ensure proportionality and fairness on a grand scale, all while keeping our city safe,” said Mark-Viverito at Wednesday’s vote.
Within the Council itself, there was varying opposition to the bills. Of the eight bills, two passed unanimously -- they require the NYPD to deliver quarterly reports on summonses and Desk Appearance Tickets (handed out in misdemeanor cases). The bill reducing penalties for littering was the most heavily opposed, passing 39-10. The bill that requires the NYPD to create guidelines for civil punishment instead of criminal summonses passed 40-9. Other bills received four or five “no” votes. There are 51 members of the City Council, but two were absent Wednesday and could not vote.
Some Council members, like Queens Republican Eric Ulrich, warned of the bills ushering in a decreased quality of life in the city. Others, like Brooklyn Democrat Jumaane Williams and Bronx Democrat Ritchie Torres, stressed that the legislation is aimed at creating a fairer criminal justice system.
Minority Leader Steven Matteo, a Staten Island Republican and outspoken opponent of the bills, said they are “unnecessary and send the wrong message about our priorities,” even as he commended the speaker for the respectful debate over the course of negotiation. “These crimes are not major felonies,” he conceded, “but just because they are not serious crimes does not mean they should not be taken seriously.”
***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
City Council Speaker Mark-Viverito (photo: William Alariste)
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has a year and a half left on the job and is clearly focused on making criminal justice reform a centerpiece of her legacy. While a commission formed by the speaker explores other changes to the city’s criminal justice system and the idea of closing the notorious Rikers Island jail complex, the City Council on Wednesday will vote on a package of bills that will in large part establish civil rather than criminal punishment for low-level nonviolent offenses and provide alternatives to monetary penalties.
The package of legislation that the Council will pass and Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to sign takes direct aim at reforming the enforcement of Broken Windows policing, a controversial trademark of NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton whereby low-level offenses are aggressively policed in an effort to protect quality of life and prevent more serious crimes.
In her State of the City address on Feb. 11, 2015 Mark-Viverito promised a more fair criminal justice system by reducing penalties for low-level quality-of-life offenses that disproportionately affect young men of color. What followed was the Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA), eight bills heard by the City Council in January and set to be voted through this week, with a few modifications.
The CJRA, which would take effect over the next year, creates guidelines for the police department to follow regarding littering, noise violations, public urination, open alcohol container violations, and breaking park rules. Barring repeated violations or nonpayment of fines, officers would be encouraged to give out tickets instead of criminal summonses. In effect, the reforms do not decriminalize these behaviors but mandate alternative punishments, largely civil penalties as opposed to criminal.
“For too long, New York’s Criminal Justice System has been broken - it’s time we fix it,” said Mark-Viverito in a statement accompanying news that the package of bills will pass this week. The CJRA, she said, will create “a more fair and just system that will ensure the penalties fit the crime.”
The Council did not arrive at the final solution alone. The mayor and the NYPD, initially holding several reservations, negotiated with the Council before and after the legislative package was introduced. Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an April 2015 interview with NY1’s Errol Louis, “I think Speaker Mark-Viverito put forward some very heartfelt proposals. I don’t agree with them in the first instance, but they’re certainly going to get an honest discussion from us. I know Commissioner [Bill] Bratton feels the same way.”
On Monday, he was no longer reticent about the reforms. “We pledged to reduce unnecessary arrests while protecting the quality of life of all our residents, and this legislation is an important step toward this essential goal,” de Blasio said in a statement. One key for having de Blasio and Bratton on board is that the package does not remove the criminal codes involved, leaving the NYPD leeway, including in demanding identification from and running background checks on those they stop for violations.
Some of the amendments to the bills added civil penalties where there were none proposed earlier, maintained criminal enforcement for particular violations, and included a mechanism to track police criteria for determining the nature of the violation as civil or criminal. The Council estimates that CJRA changes will divert about 100,000 cases from the criminal court system, save 10,000 people annually from having a permanent criminal record for these low-level offenses, and drastically reduce by tens of thousands the number of summons warrants issued - the city currently has a backlog of warrants well over one million.
“We have worked closely with the Mayor, the Speaker and the Council on this legislation,” said Peter Donald, NYPD director of communications, in an email. “The new legislation allows the NYPD to use the full range of enforcement tools that we currently have to address these offenses while providing us with the additional option to issue a civil summons instead of a criminal summons or arrest in appropriate circumstances. This legislation advances the many steps the NYPD has taken to implement precision policing in all communities throughout the City.”
Commissioner Bratton has recently touted his use of a “peace dividend,” which is the reduction in unnecessary negative interactions between NYPD officers and New Yorkers that is allowable by continuing drops in crime. Arrest numbers have indeed been dropping.
One of the CJRA bills would allow people to participate in community service offered by the Office of Administrative Tribunals and Hearings instead of paying a fine. OATH will also track these offenses and evaluate how they are imposed.
Another bill changes the $25 criminal penalty for an open alcohol container to a civil fine for the same amount. Like others, this change is aimed at avoiding criminal records for individuals committing low-level nonviolent offenses.
The first bill to go partially into effect reduces misdemeanors for breaking parks rules to violations. In 30 days after the bill is signed into law, it will no longer be a misdemeanor to be in a park at night or fail to comply with park signs. Other elements of the bill would apply after a year.
Another month after that (60 days from signing), the law establishing civil instead of criminal penalties for littering and public urination would apply. The original legislation was amended to allow criminal enforcement and additional civil penalties.
Under two other bills, the NYPD would have to report the number of summonses and Desk Appearance Tickets (issued in the case of misdemeanors) every three months, with demographic data. The first summons report would be due October 2017 while the DAT report is due by this July.
City Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo, a Republican from Staten Island, calls the bills "unnecessary." In a statement to Gotham Gazette, Matteo said, "The NYPD should - and does - have the flexibility to enforce quality-of-life crimes appropriately and judiciously. But that enforcement should be dictated by policies tailored to specific community problems and trends, not overarching legislation. In my view, most of these bills are unnecessary and send the wrong message about our public safety priorities.”
Calling it a "balanced approach," City Council Public Safety Committee Chair Vanessa Gibson said in a statement, “The Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2016 gives our police force tools to address low-level offenses for what they are: infractions to be taken seriously, but not ones that should yield life altering consequences."
While some conservative critics worry about a reduction in safety and quality of life, for criminal justice advocates outside of government, the bills are not all they want to see, but certainly a significant step forward for the city.
“This act makes important progress away from the crippling effects of ‘broken windows’ policing and toward policing practices that are smarter, fairer and safer for all New Yorkers,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, in a statement.
The reforms move the city’s system “closer to actual justice and away from an overreliance on arrests, prosecution and jail for low-level offenses,” said Tina Luongo, attorney in charge, criminal defense practice, the New York Legal Aid Society, while pointing out that the existing system disproportionately penalizes communities of color and low income New Yorkers.
“We are pleased City Council has acknowledged that jail time and criminal penalties – with all of the attendant civil consequences such as job loss, eviction or deportation – are inappropriate punishments for things like littering or holding an open beer can on the street,” said Lisa Schreibersdorf, executive director of Brooklyn Defender Services.
“Civil adjudication is a more appropriate response to these issues,” Schreibersdorf added, “and we look forward to continuing to work with the City Council on the implementation of the new law.”
Not all advocates are satisfied, however. Many want low-level offenses to be completely decriminalized as opposed to finding alternative punishments. Alex Vitale, associate professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, finds it encouraging that the Council is recognizing the effect of what he calls over-policing. “But my concern is that they are still relying heavily on punitive responses to the city’s problems,” Vitale said in a phone interview. “Rather than debate whether or not people should be getting arrested or [getting] a ticket for public urination, the city should be installing public bathrooms.”
***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
The five District Attorneys at a March hearing (photo: William Alatriste)
The district attorneys of the five boroughs reasserted their need for increased funding in the 2017 fiscal year at a City Council executive budget hearing Monday at City Hall. Council members—opting to forego heavy questioning of the necessity of this funding—framed fulfilling the district attorney requests as a crucial step towards criminal justice reform.
The public safety committee hearing was the penultimate executive budget hearing, with the finance committee set to finish the proceedings Tuesday before closed-door negotiations lead to a budget deal between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.
De Blasio’s preliminary budget, released Jan. 21, estimated $94 million would be allocated to the King’s County (Brooklyn) DA office, $57 million to Queens County, $10 million to Richmond County (Staten Island), $101 million to New York County (Manhattan), and $59 million to Bronx County.
The five DAs presented additional funding requests during a preliminary budget hearing in March, after which the Council called on de Blasio to fully fund those budget needs in its response to his preliminary budget and listed public safety among its top eight priorities. Of the five offices, New York County requested an additional $600,000, Bronx County $11.5 million, Kings County $1 million, Queens County $4.9 million, and Richmond $3.6 million. The Bronx request was so large because new DA Darcel Clark plans to open a new bureau on Rikers Island, as well as several other significant initiatives.
None of the additional funding requests were included in de Blasio’s $82.2 executive budget, released April 27—a decision Council Member and Public Safety Committee Chair Vanessa Gibson said on Monday she was “very disappointed to see.”
“The City Council is making significant impacts to criminal justice reform, but none of this will matter if the city does not support our District Attorneys,” Gibson said. “Though I applaud the efforts that the administration’s [making] to fund other law enforcement agencies such as the NYPD, it is irresponsible not to include funding for our city’s prosecutors.”
At Monday’s executive budget hearing, representatives from the DA offices, including three DAs themselves, said increased funding would be the only solution to severe problems facing each county, and Council Member and Finance Committee Chair Julissa Ferreras-Copeland said the Council was “on the same page.” Ferreras-Copeland criticized de Blasio’s executive budget earlier in May when she said it did not “ensure that the shared priorities of both the Administration and the Council are included.”
In response to Monday's comments from the district attorney offices and Council members, mayoral spokesperson Monica Klein said in an emailed statement, "The administration is committed to appropriately funding the critical needs of our District Attorneys, and we look forward to working with the Council and DAs throughout the budget process. Mayor de Blasio has also invested in numerous initiatives to support our DAs' essential efforts -- including an additional $2 million per year to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and $10 million to the Anti-Violence Innovation challenge -- and launched expansive initiatives aimed at reducing opioid misuse and overdose deaths across the City, in close partnership with local elected officials."
Manhattan DA Cy Vance said on Monday that additional funding would go toward the creation of an Alternative to Incarceration unit aimed at preventing low-level nonviolent offenders from facing jail time.
Staten Island DA Michael McMahon, a Democrat who succeeded Republican Dan Donovan (now a member of Congress) as DA, said his predecessors “did not aggressively pursue” sufficient funding at City Hall. As a result, McMahon said his office is unequiped to combat Staten Island’s rising heroin overdose epidemic and domestic abuse incidents, and currently unable to finance a case management system. All five DAs are now Democrats, like de Blasio and 48 of the 51 City Council members.
Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson, represented at the hearing by his chief of staff Leroy Frazer, and Queens DA Richard Brown, represented by Chief ADA Jack Ryan, both hope to direct additional funding towards increasing personnel and improving facilities.
While Bronx DA Clark said some funding would go towards facilities and retaining more staff within her offices, she also hopes to establish a Rikers bureau that targets the prison complex, where she said corruption currently fosters “criminal business as usual.”
***
by Aaron Holmes, Gotham Gazette
@GothamGazette