The NYPD’s year-end report detailing its response to at-risk officers is missing key details.
How many struggling officers have had to repeat the program?
But omitted data on early intervention programs can be found in separate quarterly reports, suggesting the NYPD has its own recidivist problem, and the dangers investigated by the early warning system last year. Twenty-eight percent of the officers involved were later subject to reinvestigation. EIPs are designed to correct performance issues and are not considered punitive in nature.
“This is a clear sign that there are serious flaws in the early warning system,” said Christopher Dunn, legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, who monitors NYPD reports for signs of misconduct. ” he said. “Numbers like these suggest that the NYPD is not serious about this system.”
Self-Defense Force Self-Defense Force
Joe Marino/New York Daily News In this file photo, an NYPD officer threatens a man. (Joe Marino, New York Daily News)
In 2023, the New York City Police Department reviewed the work of 768 officers who met internal review criteria, according to a compilation of data from quarterly reports. For example, in the past 12 months, the district attorney made three arrests that were not prosecuted or were not prosecuted. He has been charged multiple times with excessive force.
Of those 768, 211 officers, or 28%, were called back later that year. It is unclear how many of these were subsequently the subject of another of his EIP reviews.
The 2022 report does not record any officers being called to Carpet more than once.
New York City Police Department officers escort a handcuffed suspect to his car during a raid in Brooklyn, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
The NYPD said in a statement that the purpose of the program is not to punish officers, but to address issues of guidance and training.
“Thresholds that trigger an EIP review do not necessarily indicate misconduct on the part of the executive, so re-candidation does not mean the intervention is not working.”
In fact, only 168 of the 768 police officers were targeted for one or more interventions, such as retraining.
City Council spokesman Randy DeSamores said the numbers reflect a lack of effort by the NYPD to “intervene and correct behavior before harmful behavior occurs.”
When the NYPD did intervene, the most common action taken (114 times) was to have supervisors more closely monitor footage from officers’ body-worn cameras. In 31 cases, officers had to be retrained to use the cameras properly.
The NYPD defended the omission in its year-end report, saying it was not required by law.
“The decision not to include information in the annual report that raises serious questions about this program is a clear sign that the NYPD is trying to hide damaging information,” Dunn said.
