The Legal Aid Society reaffirmed the critical need for the City to properly fund the Civilian Complaint Review Board – the oversight agency that reviews cases of misconduct brought against NYPD police officers – to hold officers who betray public trust fully accountable.

An investigation by ProPublica – which resulted in the publishing of thousands of NYPD officers’ disciplinary records – illustrates how the NYPD has routinely stonewalled CCRB investigations, often withholding critical evidence that can advance a case. With a small staff and budget—$19 million – the CCRB lacks the resources to properly oversee the nation’s largest police force.

Attorneys at Legal Aid and public defenders throughout the city have called for increased support for the​ agency, noting that access to previous complaints lodged against officers are crucial in the name of justice for the accused, as well as for meaningful reform, according to Gothamist.

“It can be telling when there’s a pattern of complaints against an individual officer or a precinct. It doesn’t tell you for sure that [an unsubstantiated case] happened, but it does tell you that a number of people have complained about a similar type of misconduct that an officer or precinct are engaging in, which can then tell the public – Here are some of the problems with policing and it also should tell our lawmakers about what’s going on with policing and what are public perceptions of policing,” said Molly Griffard, Legal Fellow with the Cop Accountability Project at The Legal Aid Society.