The Legal Aid Society sent a letter to the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) demanding an immediate investigation into the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) unlawful practice of conducting full custodial arrests and detaining people who should be issued appearance tickets and released.

As a result of the NYPD’s failure to comply with State law, the number of people charged with low-level offenses languishing in custody awaiting their arraignment has ballooned. And within the past two weeks, two New Yorkers have died in custody, as arraignment wait times grow.

New York Law states that, with limited exceptions, police officers must issue appearance tickets rather than arrest individuals suspected of committing violations commonly referred to as “low-level offenses”.

Despite this mandate, in the first two months of 2025, the NYPD significantly increased custodial arrests and detention for people charged with low-level offenses. The number of people arrested for low-level drug possession who were put through the system rose 59% in January and February 2025 compared with the same months in 2024 — 2,086 arrests versus 1,312. Similarly, 248 people arrested for noncriminal violations were put through the system in the first two months of 2025, compared to just 86 people in the same two months in 2024 — an increase of 188%.

“The NYPD’s continued disregard for State law has already resulted in the endangerment of the people we serve, forcing them to needlessly languish in custody due to officers’ refusal to comply with an established mandate,” said Meghna Philip, the Director of the Special Litigation Unit in the Criminal Defense Practice at Legal Aid. “No New Yorker should be subjected to the myriad health and safety risks – including death – posed by detention. We demand an immediate and thorough investigation into the NYPD’s dangerous arrest and detention practices and urge DOI to hold the NYPD accountable for any noncompliance with the law.”