Executive Orders Regarding Police Reform

• Each local government entity which has a police agency must perform a comprehensive review of current police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, and develop a plan to improve such practices for the purposes of addressing the particular needs of the communities served by such police agency and promote community engagement to foster trust, fairness, and legitimacy, and to address any racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color.
• Each chief executive of such local government shall convene the head of the local police agency, and stakeholders in the community to develop such plan, which shall consider evidence-based policing strategies, including but not limited to
  • use of force policies, procedural justice;
  • any studies addressing systemic racial bias or racial justice in policing;
  • implicit bias awareness training; 
  • de-escalation training and practices; 
  • law enforcement assisted diversion programs; 
  • restorative justice practices; 
  • community-based outreach and conflict resolution; 
  • problem-oriented policing; 
  • hot spots policing; 
  • focused deterrence;
  • crime prevention through environmental design;
  • violence prevention and reduction interventions; 
  • model policies and guidelines promulgated by the New York State Municipal Police Training Council; and 
  • standards promulgated by the New York State Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.
• The local government, in coordination with its police agency, must consult with stakeholders, including but not limited to:
  • membership and leadership of the local police force; 
  • members of the community, with emphasis in areas with high numbers of police and community interactions; 
  • interested non-profit and faith-based community groups; 
  • the local office of the district attorney; 
  • the local public defender; and local elected officials.
• With this group they must create a plan to adopt and implement the recommendations resulting from its review and consultation, including any modifications, modernizations, and innovations to its policing deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, tailored to the specific needs of the community and general promotion of improved police agency and community relationships based on trust, fairness, accountability, and transparency, and which seek to reduce any racial disparities in policing.
• Such plan shall be offered for public comment to all citizens in the locality, and after consideration of such comments, shall be presented to the local legislative body in such political subdivision, which shall ratify or adopt such plan by local law or resolution, as appropriate, no later than April 1, 2021.
• Such local government shall transmit a certification to the Director of the Division of the Budget to affirm that such process has been complied with and such local law or resolution has been adopted.
• The Director of the Division of the Budget shall be authorized to condition receipt of future appropriated state or federal funds upon filing of such certification for which such local government would otherwise be eligible.

View the official order

View NYS guidance, framework and resources re: police reform

• Certification and Credentialing

  • The Attorney General shall allocate Department of Justice discretionary grant funding only to those State and local law enforcement agencies that have sought or are in the process of seeking appropriate credentials from a reputable independent credentialing body certified by the Attorney General.

  • The Attorney General shall certify independent credentialing bodies that meet standards to be set by the Attorney General. The Attorney General’s standards for certification shall require independent credentialing bodies to, at a minimum, confirm that

    • the law enforcement agency’s use-of-force policies adhere to all applicable Federal, State, and local laws; and

    • the agency’s use-of-force policies prohibit the use of chokeholds - a physical maneuver that restricts an individual’s ability to breathe for the purposes of incapacitation - except in those situations where the use of deadly force is allowed by law. 

  • Information Sharing

    • The Attorney General shall create a database to coordinate the sharing of information between and among Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies concerning instances of excessive use of force related to law enforcement matters, accounting for applicable privacy and due process rights.

    • The database shall include a mechanism to track, as permissible, terminations or de-certifications of law enforcement officers, criminal convictions of law enforcement officers for on-duty conduct, and civil judgments against law enforcement officers for improper use of force.  It shall account for instances where a law enforcement officer resigns or retires while under active investigation related to the use of force.  The Attorney General shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the information in the database consists only of instances in which law enforcement officers were afforded fair process.

    • The Attorney General shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, allocate Department of Justice discretionary grant funding only to those law enforcement agencies that submit the necessary information to the databases.

  • Mental Health, Homelessness, and Addiction

    • The Attorney General shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services as appropriate, identify and develop opportunities to train law enforcement officers with respect to encounters with individuals suffering from impaired mental health, homelessness, and addiction; to increase the capacity of social workers working directly with law enforcement agencies; and to provide guidance regarding the development and implementation of co-responder programs, which involve social workers or other mental health professionals working alongside law enforcement officers so that they arrive and address situations together.  

 View the official order

• Chapter 96 of the Laws of 2020/ Repeal of 50-a
  • Repeals section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law which created a special right of privacy for the "personnel records used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion" of police officers, correction officers, and firefighters/paramedics employed by the State or political subdivisions, as well as those of peace officers working for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or local probation departments.
  • This legislation allows such records to be foiled and provides additional protections against the release of sensitive personal information.
• Chapter 94 of the Laws of 2020/ Crime of Aggravated Strangulation 
  • Amends the penal law, section 121.11 provides that a person who uses any procedure known as a chokehold shall be guilty of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation.
  • Adds a new section to the penal law, 121.13-a, establishing the crime of strangulation in the first degree; disregard of banned employment procedures. Provides that a person commits strangulation in the first degree when he or she disregards any procedure banned by his or her employment, commits the crime of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation as defined in section 121.11 and causes serious physical injury or death to another person. Strangulation in the first degree; disregard of banned employment procedures shall be a class B felony.
• Chapter 100 of the Laws of 2020/Right to Record
  • Provides that a person not under arrest or in the custody of a law enforcement official has the right to record police activity and to maintain custody and control of that recording and of any property or instruments used by that person to record police activities, however, a person in custody or under arrest does not, by that status alone, forfeit such right to record.
• Chapter 93 of the Laws of 2020/ Fraudulent 911 Calls
  • Establishes civil penalties for summoning a police officer or peace officer when there is no reason to believe a crime or offense, or imminent threat to person or property, is occurring in whole  or  in substantial  part  because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious  practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the  belief or perception is correct.
• Chapter 95 of the Laws of 2020/Office of Special Investigation
  • Establish an Office of Special Investigation within the office of the New York State Attorney General to investigate in instances where an individual dies following an encounter with a police officer or peace officer. Where criminality is believed to have been occurred, the Office would be empowered to prosecute alleged offenses committed by a police officer or peace officer with respect to such encounter or the related investigations.
  • Further, In cases involving the submission of a potential criminal charge against a police officer or peace officer, legal instructions would be given by the judge or justice in charge of the grand jury. After submission of such charge or charges and final action by the grand jury, these legal instructions would be available for public release, provided that the names of witnesses and any information that would identify a witness would be redacted if the court determined that public release of such information would endanger any person.
• Chapter 104 of the Laws of 2020/Law Enforcement Investigation Office
  • Creates a new appointed position and office to oversee local and state police across the state. That person, who would serve a five-year term, would have a $10 million annual budget and the power to access any records held by local and state law enforcement agencies.
• Chapter 102 of the Laws of 2020/The Police Statistics and Transparency Act
  • Requires courts to compile and publish racial and other demographic data of all low-level offenses, including misdemeanors and violations. The data collected must be made available online and updated monthly. The new law also requires police departments to report any arrest-related death to the Department of Criminal Justice Services and to submit annual reports on arrest-related deaths to the Governor and the Legislature.
• Chapter 101 of the Laws of 2020/Weapon Discharge Reporting
  • Requires that any law enforcement officer or peace officer who discharges their weapon, while on or off duty, where a person could be struck by a bullet from the weapon is required to verbally report the incident to his or her supervisor within six hours and prepare and file a written report within 48 hours of the incident.
• Chapter 103 of the Laws of 2020/Providing Medical and Mental Health Attention to Individuals in Custody
  • Requires police officers, peace officers and other law enforcement representatives and entities to provide medical and mental health attention to any individual in custody. Police can be liable for damages for anyone who does not receive medical attention and suffers a serious physical injury or has their injury exacerbated by the lack of care