The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) kicked off the year uptown, with the NYPD watchdog holding 2023’s first monthly board meeting at Harlem Hospital Center last Wednesday, Jan. 11.
“[We want] people in this neighborhood to have easy access to our board members and share their experiences and ask questions,” said CCRB interim chair Arva Rice.
For local violence-interruption groups like Street Corner Resources—who filled the auditorium’s first three rows—the meeting offered an opportunity to air out concerns Black and brown youth face with policing.
“Our young people are traumatized. We have to convince them to interact with the police,” said Street Corner Resources CEO Iesha Sekou. “Oftentimes, the police will say ‘we’re having such and such—we want to play basketball.’ Nobody wants to play basketball with somebody who will beat them in the dark of the night. Nobody wants to do rock climbing with officers who they had negative interactions with, and smile or dance [with them] or do the Electric Slide, that’s not happening.”
During the meeting, community members also questioned the CCRB’s efficacy, as the watchdog can only offer recommendations to the police commissioner on matters pertaining to office allegations of misconduct, which some felt was a potential conflict of interest. No representatives from the NYPD were present to participate, although several self-identifying ex-members of law enforcement dialed in to share their comments.
Fresh on the public’s mind was the recent video of a Staten Island officer shown hitting a Black, teen girl. The cop was subsequently suspended and is currently being investigated, but the CCRB board members said the watchdog will be conducting its own probe into the incident.
City Councilmember Gale Brewer and Deputy Borough Pres. Keisha Sutton-James attended the meeting. Brewer suggested that the CCRB’s budget be tied with the NYPD’s in order to keep pace with the police department.
The CCRB pitched to those between 10-18 to join its Youth Advisory Council, and Sutton-James highlighted that anyone over the age of 16 is eligible to participate on community boards.
According to the CCRB, there were 332 more complaints last year compared with 2021, equating to a 10% increase. The uptick was largely rooted in a stark 20% rise in force allegations, with 279 more in 2022 than the previous year.
Rice—who is also the CEO and president of the nearby New York Urban League (NYUL)—also mentioned the upcoming 30th anniversary of the modern CCRB. In 1993, then-mayor David Dinkins divorced the agency from the NYPD.
Youngsters between 10 and 18 can apply to sit on CCRB’s 2023 Youth Advisory Council at https://www.nyc.gov/site/ccrb/about/outreach/yac-application.page
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.