The Commission to Combat Police Corruption, created by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, in a draft report released on June 28th cited inexperienced prosecutors and lengthy delays as serious obstacles in the NYPD’s internal system for handling police misconduct including accusations of the use of excessive force and failure to respond, as in the recent Central Park assaults on women. Following the eight-month study the Commission recommends that the city set up an independent agency. “Time and again, police agencies have proved they lack the will to aggressively prosecute police corruption and misconduct, especially police brutality incidents and cases involving domestic violence by police officers,” said Chief Penny E. Harrington, director of the Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Center for Women & Policing. “For example, we know that national studies document that as many as 40% of police officers commit domestic violence, and yet only a handful are ever prosecuted or fired. That’s why outside civilian oversight of law enforcement is vital.”
The Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Center for Women and Policing works to increase the number of women and minorities in law enforcement agencies and improve police response to violence against women. For more information, please visit https://feminist.org/police/ncwp.html. Source: New York Times June 29 2000
