NYCLU: New Leadership Not Enough to Fix CCRB

The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) today announced that Joan Thompson will serve as the agency’s new executive director. The CCRB is charged with investigating and mediating complaints members of the public file against New York City police officers involving the use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy or offensive language. The largest police oversight agency in the United States, the CCRB is also the subject of a new New York Civil Liberties Union report, Mission Failure: Civilian Review of Policing in New York City.

The following can be attributed to NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman.

“The New York Civil Liberties Union is deeply committed to independent oversight of the police. The NYCLU has monitored the Civilian Complaint Review Board since its inception and will continue to do so as Joan Thompson begins her tenure there. As an institution, the CCRB has to be aggressive in identifying and investigating individual cases of abuse as well as practices that encourage abuse. As documented by our report, Mission Failure: Civilian Review of Policing in New York City, Thompson has her work cut out for her. As she begins her tenure, it is critical that she and the entire CCRB are given the full support of the City Council, the mayor and the police department, and that they all demonstrate leadership in seeing civilian review of policing succeed. In the absence of their leadership and support, Thompson will not be able to see the CCRB fulfill its mission.”

Click here to find out more about the NYCLU’s report Mission Failure: Civilian Review of Policing in New York City.