Police Practices and Civil Rights in New York City

Chapter 2

Recruitment, Selection, and Training

The effectiveness of the New York City Police Department can be evaluated by looking at several factors, including the quality of the officers recruited into the force, its ethnic and gender composition, and the type of instruction provided to allow good recruits to become good police officers. Although the NYPD dedicates substantial time and resources to recruiting and training people of color, especially those who reside within the NYPD’s jurisdiction, they are still dramatically underrepresented in the force compared with the overall population of New York City. Moreover, the many flaws in the recruitment and training processes may contribute to race-related problems in the NYPD.

This section of the report discusses NYPD recruitment and training programs. It begins with a description of the department’s recruitment efforts, focusing on the NYPD’s efforts to increase diversity. Next, it reviews the several training programs currently used by the NYPD. This section concludes with recommendations addressing existing shortcomings in the NYPD’s recruitment and training programs as they relate to diversity and race issues.

Recruitment

An ideal recruitment policy would allow the NYPD to attract candidates capable of effectively policing all of New York City’s diverse communities. Such a policy should consider factors including the educational level and psychological makeup of individual recruits and the diversity of the force as a whole, including adequate representation of people of color and women in ranking positions.[1]

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights emphasized these factors in a report published more than 20 years ago concerning the desirability of a diverse police force representing the ethnic makeup of the policed community.[2] The report notes the importance of “developing a [police] force that reflects the racial and ethnic composition of the community it serves. . . . It is axiomatic that a police force representative of its community will enjoy improved relations with the community and will, consequently, function more effectively.”[3] This remains true today.

New York City’s mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, agreed. In his statement to the Commission, he wrote that officers need to understand and be representative of the communities they patrol.[4] However, he testified that the NYPD actually “does not represent the diverse population of the city. It never has.”[5]

Several witnesses agreed that diversity must be a goal for the NYPD. For example, Rev. Al Sharpton said that the lack of diversity is shameful.[6] He went so far as to recommend that a federal monitor be placed to “take over” the New York Police Department “until there is a plan in place around the issues of diversity and police misconduct.”[7]

 Ethnic and Gender Representation on the Force

Census statistics indicate that approximately 31.6 percent of the population in New York City is African American, 20.3 percent Hispanic, 9.7 percent Asian Pacific American, and 53 percent female.[8] The NYPD minority population stands in stark contrast. Only 18 percent of the NYPD is Hispanic, 13 percent African American, 1.5 percent Asian Pacific American, and 13.8 percent female.[9]

This disproportionate representation does not appear to be appreciably improving. Exacerbating the problem, as of April 5, 2000, only one-half the number of persons who applied in 1996 had signed up for the April 7 police examination.[10] In fact, only 37.4 percent of all hires from 1994 through 1998 were people of color, and only 14.9 percent were women (9.4 percent minority women).[11] This time period also witnessed a substantial decrease in African American hires, from a high of 18.5 percent of all hires in 1995 to only 11.2 percent in 1998.[12] These statistics were cited as inadequate by the Task Force on Police/Community Relations, appointed by Mayor Giuliani, which observed that the “current representation of African Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans and women is not impressive, especially when viewed in relation to the City’s racial, ethnic, and gender composition.”[13]

The disparity is even greater among ranking officers.[14] Of the 472 captains, the NYPD has only promoted 10 African Americans (2.1 percent), 13 Hispanics (2.8 percent), 2 Asian Americans (0.4 percent), and 22 women (4.7 percent) to the rank of captain.[15] Only 12.9 percent of lieutenants and 18.1 percent of sergeants are people of color.[16]

Although the exact causes of the present disparity are unclear, the underrepresentation of people of color and women can be traced to the earliest stages of the recruitment process: NYPD officer applications. In 1997 and 1998, only 18.9 percent of applicants to the NYPD were African American, and only 23.3 percent were female.[17] This represents a decrease in applications by individuals of color. According to a statement issued earlier this year by Police Commissioner Howard Safir, from 1994 to 1999, African Americans accounted for 24.4 percent and Hispanics accounted for 26.4 percent of applicants taking the police entrance exam—higher numbers than for 1997 and 1998 alone.[18]

Moreover, a significant disparity exists in the exam pass rate among racial and ethnic groups. From 1994 to 1999, the pass rate for white applicants was 85 percent, compared with 72.2 percent for Asian Pacific Americans, 65.7 percent for Hispanics, and 60.6 percent for African Americans.[19] Statistics for the January 1999 exam are even more troublesome—only 43.7 percent of minority candidates passed the exam, compared with 69 percent of white applicants.[20]

Requirements for Becoming a Police Officer

Mayor Giuliani testified that the standards for recruitment have increased over the past 10 years.[21] Changes include requiring candidates to have at least 60 college credits,[22] making the exams more difficult, increasing the number of hours and intensity of training at the Police Academy, and instituting a field component for real-life situations.[23] Yet the requirements to become a police officer, although superficially neutral, may operate to further limit the number of people of color in the NYPD.

To become a police officer, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen,[24] between the ages of 22 and 35, living in New York City or the Counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, or Putnam.[25] As stated earlier, applicants must also have accumulated at least 60 college credits with at least a 2.0 GPA, or have 2 years of active military experience.[26]

After satisfying these prerequisites, applicants must pass a written civil service examination administered by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.[27] Applicants passing the written examination must also pass a medical examination, written and oral psychological examinations,[28] physical examination, and clear a background and character investigation.[29] Grounds for disqualification include conviction for a felony or domestic violence, or for an offense indicating lack of good moral character or a disposition toward violence or disorder, repeated convictions of an offense indicating “disrespect for the law,” discharge from employment as a result of poor behavior or inability to adjust to discipline, or a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. military.[30]

Police Commissioner Howard Safir testified that based on these stringent recruitment requirements, he dismisses the characterization of police officers as badly trained and insufficiently monitored.[31] In fact, he believes that candidates are carefully screened and selected.[32]

Critics have argued that the examinations and other requirements for becoming a police officer are arbitrary and unrelated to performance as a police officer. For example, Sergeant Anthony Miranda testified that although many qualified African American and Latino candidates apply, “the majority are eliminated through the psychological services,” partly because of the lack of African American and Hispanic psychologists.[33] With regard to background checks, investigations for those living outside the city are usually completed within 12 months while those living within the city often must wait longer than 12 months for their background checks to be completed.[34] Therefore, according to Sergeant Miranda, if a candidate living in the city scored higher than a person living outside the city, the noncity candidate would get hired before the city resident because the former would be cleared first.[35] Sergeant Miranda stated in harsh terms that the recruitment and application process “is already prostituted and it’s already corrupted.”[36] Miranda opined that although there may be an increase in the number of applicants, it will likely not affect the number of candidates who actually become officers” because of the biases built into the process.[37] The Reverend Calvin Butts stated that education and the psychological evaluation of candidates are two areas worth changing.[38]

 The Commission did not review the civil service examination or the standards applied in connection with the character and psychological screenings. Therefore, it is unable to evaluate these assertions. The information the NYPD did provide to the Commission, however, suggests that people of color were not disproportionately disqualified for appointment to police officer on the basis of psychological and character screening in 1997. In that year, the only year for which statistics were made available, 218 of the 336 candidates (65 percent) disqualified on the basis of psychological screening were white, compared with 47 (14 percent) African Americans and 67 (20 percent) Hispanics.[39] On the basis of the character review, 329 (56.3 percent) of the 584 candidates disqualified were white, compared with 109 (18.7 percent) African Americans and 130 Hispanics (22.3 percent).[40]

College Education Requirement

The NYPD instituted a college education requirement presumably to attract candidates who are better able to respond to difficult situations, especially in an increasingly complex city such as New York. The 60-credit requirement, however, may not be enough to professionalize the NYPD. Moreover, it may not restore public confidence in the police. A common thread among officers involved in inappropriate behavior was a low level of education and experience before entering the Police Academy.[41] One observer noted that the common scenario in police recruitment and training involved selecting young adults “right out of high school, rush them through a five-month, police-operated training academy, give them a gun, the authority to use deadly force and tell them to hit the streets.”[42] With the enormous amount of responsibility and public expectations placed on police officers, this college education requirement and the subsequent Police Academy training are inadequate.

Good officers possess not only physical courage but also sound judgment, the ability to reason, knowledge of the law, and maturity.[43] Adopting a college degree requirement, as opposed to requiring only 60 college credits without earning the degree, would allow the NYPD to hire well-educated, broad-minded officers who possess the maturity to deal effectively and in an even-handed manner with the public. Being a police officer means being part of a profession. Every major profession today educates its members through university-based education, except for the police.[44] A completed college education would expose officers to humanities, social sciences, modern technologies, ethical issues, and the knowledge of the multidimensional aspects of crime and its impact on society.[45] Additionally, a college degree requirement would help restore public confidence in the police by producing smarter and more mature police professional with proper training and who are less likely to succumb to the temptations of deviant behavior.[46] With the many colleges in the City of New York providing a criminal justice education and degree, including the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, city residents and the NYPD have ample opportunities to fulfill this requirement.[47]

Minority-directed Recruitment Efforts

Few disagree that the underrepresentation of people of color and women on the NYPD must be rectified. This sentiment was echoed in the first page of Commissioner Safir’s Report on Recruitment for 1997–1998, which noted that a primary goal of the recruitment campaign was to “attract qualified applicants who more adequately represent the racial and ethnic diversity of the communities [the NYPD] serve[s].”[48]

Many aspects of the NYPD’s recruitment efforts appear directed to some extent toward increasing minority representation. However, the efficacy of these programs is questionable. Many have been in place for some time but have failed to correct the lack of diversity on the force. The NYPD should critically evaluate its recruitment programs and the substance of its recruitment message to determine whether its approach to recruiting minority candidates and women should be revised.[49] This process should recognize that the lack of minority officers might be due not only to the inadequacy of recruitment efforts, but also to the larger problem that both actual and alleged NYPD misconduct (including sexual harassment) has resulted in an adversarial posture between the NYPD and minority communities, discouraging many candidates of color (and women) from entering what they perceive to be an inhospitable institution.

Affirmative Action

Many groups, including the mayor’s Task Force on Police/Community Relations, advocate the introduction of an aggressive affirmative action program for the NYPD.[50] These groups argue that underrepresentation of people of color on the force impairs the ability of the police to function effectively, particularly in predominately nonwhite neighborhoods, where an overwhelmingly white police force may be resented.[51] They suggest that only a substantial increase in minority representation can be expected to improve public confidence in the police force, thereby improving police-community relations and increasing the effectiveness of the police.

Recruitment Drives

To increase the number of resident officers, Police Commissioner Safir instituted a comprehensive plan to attract more city residents via advertisement and projects.[52] Among these projects included community outreach, youth career development, career enhancements and incentives, and training.[53]

The NYPD’s recruitment efforts also instituted several advertising initiatives that used a variety of media and were designed, in part, to target minority residents of the city. The 1998 recruitment drive focused on four separate initiatives:[54]

  1. College Initiative. Recruitment teams visited all CUNY, community, and private colleges at career fairs, classes, clubs, basketball games, and student events. “To attract qualified applicants from diverse populations,” special emphasis was placed on recruiting at colleges with predominantly African American, Hispanic, or female student bodies, including John Jay College of Criminal Justice, York College, Medger Evers College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, and Bronx Community College.[55]

  2. Advertising Initiative. Advertising to attract candidates included (a) 5,000 posters inside buses and 1,200 subway car illuminated transparency posters; (b) recruitment advertisements run at Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, and Javits Center; (c) advertisements in local media, including the Amsterdam News, Daily News, WLIB Newsletter, New York Post, and El Puente; (d) advertisements and articles in the John Jay College Alumni Newsletter, Chief Newspaper, Chinese American Association Newspaper, DEA Newsletter, Housing Authority Journal, Irish Voice, and The Staten Island Advance; (e) radio and television advertisements on KYS–FM, WBLS, and Crosswalks Cable Television; (f) poster distribution to community-based organizations and 1,000 neighborhood storefronts in all five boroughs; and (g) Internet Web page advertising. The multimedia advertising campaign was professionally developed and included, among other things, advertisements on the radio, television, print, billboards, subways, jumbo TV on Times Square, and mailing inserts in utility bills.[56]

  3. Community-based Initiative. Recruitment efforts targeted directly at minority community institutions included (a) recruitment outreach at the Kwanza Festival 1997 at Javits Center; (b) mailings to 400 clergy advertising upcoming police examinations; (c) presentations made at Rev. Flake’s A.M.E. Church and Westside Baptist Church; (d) direct mailings of applications to qualified and interested individuals; and (e) outreach to Multi-Service Center directors to assist in reaching applicants from their communities.

  4. Subway Ridership Initiative. Recruiting in designated subway stations. Recent recruitment campaigns have also included a “City Resident Recruitment Drive” designed specifically to encourage more city residents to join the force. This drive has included staffing recruitment stations throughout the city at libraries, police stations, and recreation centers; addressing meetings of local fraternal organizations, including the Urban League and NAACP; extensive advertising; and using local clergy to serve as liaisons between the community and police department.[57] In fact, Rev. Calvin Butts appeared on posters to recruit police officers from the African American and Latino communities.[58] At the hearing, Rev. Butts testified that there was a need to “get more African Americans and Latinos on the force.”[59] The campaign also established recruiting stations in libraries, recreation centers, and police precincts so residents can obtain information on joining the NYPD and applications for the police examination.[60]

Although impressive on paper, the 1998 drive does not appear to have been particularly successful, at least in the short term. As indicated above, applications by African Americans and women in 1997 and 1998 were low. These disappointing results may partly be due to the meager $37,718 budget allotted for the 1997–1998 drive.[61] In addition, the message communicated by the recruiters may not have been effective or appropriate for the target communities.[62] One measure currently being considered to remedy this problem is to establish a permanent minority recruitment unit with a budget of $1.7 million by 2001.[63]

The NYPD reported that it had better success with the 1999 recruitment drive. The drive resulted in the “largest percentage of City residents and people of color ever applying to take the Police Officer exams, 67% City residents, 61% minorities, and 29.5% women.”[64] It included initiatives in four key areas: community outreach, youth career development, career enhancement and incentives, and training.[65]

Large-scale Advertising Campaign

The NYPD initiated a $10 million advertising campaign to increase minority recruiting.[66] Commissioner Safir believed that the $10 million spent was appropriate and deemed the recruitment efforts and other measures “successful.”[67] Commissioner Safir received “a great response from young people in college to our new cadet program.”[68] He estimated that the department would add 1,200 cadets to the academy.[69]

Many others do not believe the program succeeded. It received considerable criticism because the NYPD used a Soho-based advertising agency[70] to run the campaign rather than consulting with minority community groups or advertisers.[71] Rev. Al Sharpton denounced the mayor’s and commissioner’s recruitment efforts. He testified that Commissioner Safir’s announcement of a multimillion dollar recruitment drive came only when Rev. Sharpton organized sit-ins.[72]

Moreover, Sharpton argued that the City Council approved of the expenditure based on Safir’s request to recruit more people of color.[73] However, when Sharpton criticized Safir for not contacting communities of color to help in the planning or execution of the drive, Safir responded that the money was for a “city resident drive” rather than a “minority recruitment drive,” apparently contradicting Safir’s own statement to the City Council.[74]

Residency Requirement

NYPD officers must be residents of New York City or the Counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, or Putnam.[75] Mayor Giuliani estimated that approximately 60 percent of NYPD officers currently reside in the city.[76] Approximately 70 percent of the last Police Academy graduating class were New York City residents.[77]

The mayor testified that stereotypes about police officers and prejudice against them have been factors in the low numbers of city residents becoming police officers.[78] “[B]reaking down some of the stereotypes and some of the prejudices” will help recruitment.[79] In their testimonies, Mayor Giuliani and Commissioner Safir made some proposals to encourage city residents to apply and be selected to become police officers.[80]

Mark Green, public advocate for the City of New York, similarly criticized the fact that half of all officers lived outside the city.[81] He testified that the need for officers to be city residents stems from the need to achieve better policing: “Ideally, more would live in the city so they’re living in the communities they’re policing or in boroughs near the communities they are policing so they understand the texture of the city better, and frankly, they’re available to the civilian [off-  duty] to spot and deter crime.”[82]

Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, president of the Hispanic Federation, believes that policemen should live in the city because “there is something about familiarity and knowing the environment in which you’re working that will add to the familiarity between . . . the residents of this city” and the officers.[83] Rev. Al Sharpton, president and chief executive officer, National Action Network, added, “We need residency laws . . . people tend to respect where they live, people tend to have better knowledge where they live.”[84] However, Public Advocate Green did not believe that a residency requirement will be imposed in the near future.[85] Howard Katz, acting director, New York Region of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, felt that since most officers did not live in the city and did not live in integrated communities, these facts hampered officers’ abilities to deal effectively with individuals from differing groups.[86] In other words, police officers reflected the values of communities in which they lived, not the ones they were hired to serve and protect.[87]

Broad support exists for some form of a residency requirement or preference. Advocates argue that a residency requirement or preference will help to achieve a more diverse and racially representative police force.[88] It will also result in police officers who are knowledgeable about the communities they police and have a greater personal stake in safe neighborhoods.[89] The NYPD has emphasized recruiting city residents for these reasons.[90]

Since 1993, applicants to the police department received a five-point bonus on their exam scores if they resided in one of the five boroughs.[91] Officers are also encouraged to live in the city through eligibility for participation in the Federal Housing Administration’s Officer Next Door and Resident Police programs, which allow officers to live in designated federally foreclosed properties or public housing within New York at a significant discount.[92]

Many groups argue that these measures do not suffice.[93] Others propose providing a mortgage incentive for resident officers and providing residency bonuses on promotional exams.[94] Still other groups take an even stronger position, supporting an absolute residency requirement whereby all police officers hired in the future would have to reside in the five boroughs of New York City, in effect making residency a “non-negotiable condition of employment.”[95]

The most compelling reason advanced for instituting a strict residency requirement centers on enhancing public perception of the NYPD through the creation of a more diverse police force.[96] Improved perception would lead to improved relations between the police and the community, in turn improving the effectiveness of the NYPD. Additionally, a residency requirement “might have the added benefit of stemming white flight from the city” and thus “improving the racial diversity in the city’s middle income neighborhoods.”[97] Police officers would have a “personal stake in safe, stable neighborhoods.”[98]

This speculative improvement in community perception of the police should be balanced, however, against several shortcomings and possible negative consequences of adopting a strict residency requirement.[99] First, a residency requirement is poorly tailored to achieve a racially diverse police force. There is no evidence that the cause of minority underrepresentation is the ability of the NYPD to draw officers from outside the city. An affirmative action program (see above) would be a more direct, and presumably a more effective, mechanism for increasing minority representation.

Second, as the mayor’s Task Force on Police/Community Relations report notes, a strict residency requirement could weaken the force by, for example, narrowing the field of qualified candidates.[100] Another possibility is that a residency requirement would cause the NYPD to lose good officers who want to move out of the city into the suburbs.[101]

Third, there is no evidence that city residents make better police officers. In fact, resident officers have been slightly more likely to be suspended or dismissed from the police force for misconduct and are disproportionately the subjects of civilian complaints.[102]

Despite these reservations, a residency requirement that is part of a larger scheme tied to an affirmative action plan may positively affect police-community relations and increase effective policing.[103]

Cadet Corps and Explorers Programs

In his statement to the Commission, Mayor Giuliani proposed several ideas to help the NYPD’s recruitment efforts. He suggested that a law enforcement high school be created that focused on specialized instruction about law enforcement.[104] At present, the NYPD has programs in place that are geared toward youth and young adults. The NYPD Cadet Corps and Explorers programs encourage community members to consider careers as NYPD officers by placing them in police facilities and exposing them to police work. Mayor Giuliani wanted to see these programs expanded from 200 to 1,200 people.[105]

The NYPD Cadet Corps program functions as an apprenticeship for college students interested in joining the NYPD after graduation.[106] The mission statement of the Corps includes the goal of increasing diversity in the NYPD by actively recruiting people of color and women to the Corps and graduating them into the police force. Cadets work with the police, performing primarily administrative tasks full time during the summer and part time during the school year. Cadets are given approximately 1,800 hours of training and actual work time over a 2-year period.[107] Much of the cadet training is similar to that received by officers at the Police Academy, including training regarding cultural diversity issues.[108]

Cadets can earn up to $20,000, including $4,000 in tuition loans that are forgiven after 2 years of service as police officers.[109] Applicants to the Cadet Corps must

Admission criteria include a good academic record, character, employment history, number of college credits earned, and the potential to graduate within 2 years.[111] The applicant must also meet minimal physical standards.[112]

The Corps has historically been fairly successful in recruiting minority and women candidates. This stems, in part, from the program requirement that all participants be city residents.[113] From 1985 to 1995, graduates from the program were 48 percent white, 20 percent African American, 27 percent Latino, 5 percent Asian Pacific American or other, and 31 percent female.[114] For this reason, the mayor’s task force and others have advocated reversing the NYPD’s reduction in the Cadet Corps budget and enrollment, in support of expansion of the program.[115] Indeed, the fiscal year 2000 executive budget includes a substantial increase of funding in an effort to expand the Cadet Corps program by 1,200 students.[116]

The Cadet Corps program has the added benefit of providing the NYPD with an opportunity for long-term observation of cadets in academic and work settings.[117] Cadets deemed not suited for police work can resign or be screened out before they are appointed to the department.[118] Not only does this professionalize the ranks of police officers through the hiring of broadly educated men and women, it also emphasizes the service responsibilities of police officers who have direct ties to the communities they serve thus maintaining appreciation for the civilian perspective and reducing acculturation into the “blue wall of silence.”[119]

A similar program for younger prospective officers has also been implemented by the NYPD in an attempt to encourage young New York City residents to become interested in becoming members of the NYPD.[120] The Explorers program, conducted in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America, provides instruction in areas of law enforcement, including criminal law and criminal investigation, to young men and women aged 14 to 21.[121] Explorers also participate in community service projects, dealing one on one with NYPD officers.[122] The Explorers have an even greater proportion of minority and female members than the Cadet Corps. As of 1996, 47 percent of Explorers were Hispanic, 36 percent were African American, and 38 percent were female.[123]

Promotion

The promotion of officers to the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant, and captain is based primarily on a written exam.[124] The Mayor Giuliani testified that promotions in the management ranks did not occur by discretion, but rather by exam scores.[125] To be eligible to sit for the examination, applicants must have served for a designated time period at the next lower rank, passed a drug test,[126] and satisfied an education requirement (a bachelor’s degree for captains, 96 college credits for lieutenants, and 64 college credits for sergeants).[127]

An officer may be promoted based on scores attained in a written exam. The names of eligible applicants meeting all “requirements and conditions”[128] are placed on a list in order of exam score,[129] and individuals are considered for appointment when their name is reached on the list.[130]

The multiple-choice exams test the abilities and technical knowledge believed by the NYPD to be important to perform the tasks of each rank: sergeant, lieutenant, or captain.[131] Topics tested include technical knowledge of police procedures and policies, personnel management skills, writing ability, organizational skills, and judgment.[132] Applicants receive additional credit based on seniority and departmental awards.[133]

Although the promotion protocol appears objective on paper, the radical underrepresentation of women and people of color in the ranks of sergeant described earlier in this chapter suggests an element of bias in the promotion system.[134] This bias may be introduced through the types of examinations administered, the educational requirements for each position, the emphasis on the discretionary granting of departmental awards,[135] or the “requirements and conditions” that each applicant must satisfy.

It is unclear to what extent performance concerning equal employment opportunity issues is considered.[136] Consideration, or lack thereof, of this factor might also contribute to the overrepresentation of nonminority officers in ranking positions. Some witnesses testified that the evaluation process may even penalize officers who sacrifice arrests in favor of observing individual’s rights.[137] James Savage, president, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, testified that officers feel a significant amount of pressure to produce summonses and arrests.[138] He noted that the NYPD places quotas on these productions.[139] He stated that “cops never get a favorable evaluation from their superiors for protecting someone’s civil rights, but they do get them for making large numbers of arrests, seizing large numbers of guns, and seizing large amounts of narcotics, or issuing a large number of summonses.”[140] These incentives, which have been widely criticized for putting undue pressure on police officers, may also lead to strained relationships between police and the communities they serve.[141]

Officer Noel Leader testified about this pressure in relation to the Street Crime Unit. He stated that where pressure is applied to the commanding officers of the Street Crime Unit, officers will engage in unlawful and illegal practices.[142] They are pressured to produce numbers since the management has a “number fixation of percentage gained, a fixation on coming up with numbers and statistics and not deal with people and human beings and emotions and feelings.”[143]

Other officers testified that not only were officers not encouraged to protect someone’s civil rights, as mentioned by Mr. Savage, but were actually retaliated against by other officers for reporting incidents of police misconduct.[144] Hiram Monserrate, a police officer for over 11 years and a member of the NYPD Latino Officers’ Association, testified that he knows of several examples of officers who reported brutality and were rewarded with retaliation.[145] Indeed, he believed a “blue wall of silence exists in racial profiling.”[146] Eric Adams, lieutenant and a member of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, identified some of the officer victims of retaliation and described certain allegations made against the NYPD: Sergeant Anthony Miranda who apparently had a heart attack after being harassed by fellow officers and Officer Yvette Walton who was terminated 30 minutes after testifying about another officer’s misconduct.[147]

Many officers have discussed other reasons for the low number of captains of color. Officer Monserrate stated that three issues relate to the low number of captains of color.[148] First, “minority representation” in the force is low. Second, the civil service exam process should be revamped.[149] Third, there is little or no diversity among deputy commissioners who have authority over budgeting, recruitment, and community affairs.[150]

Lieutenant Adams went further and accused the police department of deliberately not promoting officers of color to the rank of captain.[151] He testified: “The primary task in the police department has always been to assure that people of color do not reach the rank of captain because once you reach the rank of captain, you reach a level where you are now appointed to positions. So you prevent [officers of color] from reaching the rank of captain.”[152] Moreover, he testified that he personally had “hard data” showing that although people of color pass the promotional exams, the department curves them out of promotional opportunities, especially at the rank of captain.[153]

Lieutenant Adams believed that increasing the number of captains would help alleviate the tense police-community relationship.[154] This stems from the fact that “captains run precincts and set policies. That’s crucial. When you have an Asian captain in Chinatown, you’d better believe you won’t have abuses in Chinatown.”[155]

Hyun Lee, program director with the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, believed that drastic measures must be taken. She commented that “community policing must be realized in the true sense, not merely in the form of more sensitivity training and hiring of minority officers, but by putting the power to hire and fire officers in the hands of the community.”[156]

Equal Employment Practices

It may be difficult to assess the severity of employment discrimination and sexual harassment in the NYPD. Although some statistics exist regarding the number of cases brought before the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO) by NYPD employees (discussed below), little detail was available on the nature and disposition of those complaints.[157] Even if such data were available, the reluctance of officers to lodge complaints for fear of retaliation may play a role.[158] Some police departments have conducted surveys to determine whether their officers have been discriminated against or sexually harassed.[159] It appears from the information provided to the Commission that the NYPD has elected not to conduct such surveys.[160]

The scope and gravity of discrimination and harassment in the NYPD should be determined for several reasons. First, discrimination and harassment are, in themselves, illegal and harmful to victims. Furthermore, acceptance of systemic discrimination will affect the treatment by police officers of the community members they serve. Healthy attitudes of officers toward one another can increase officers’ respect of people of color outside the force, and reduce prejudice. Widespread discrimination will also contribute to the underrepresentation of people of color and women on the force. These groups will be less likely to become officers (and more likely to leave), if the NYPD is, or is perceived to be, a racist or misogynistic institution.[161]

Employment Discrimination

In September 1998, the NYPD issued Interim Order Patrol Guide 120-12 focusing on employment discrimination.[162] The order defines employment discrimination as 

[the] disparate treatment of employees regarding any terms, conditions or privileges of employment including hiring, assignments, working conditions, salary and benefits, evaluations, promotions, training, transfers, discipline and termination, based on a person’s age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or alienage or citizenship status. Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination.[163]

The order also states that supervisory personnel who become aware of any discrimination problem or complaint must report the problem to the OEEO orally no later than the next business day, and in writing within 5 business days.[164] Nonsupervisory personnel are strongly encouraged to take the same actions, or report the problems to a supervisor.[165]

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined under the NYPD Interim Order 120-12 as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature” which (1) are made a term or condition of employment, (2) are the basis of employment decisions, or (3) unreasonably interfere with an individual’s work performance.[166] Like other forms of employment discrimination, sexual harassment is prohibited within the NYPD and, like other forms of employment discrimination, victims of sexual harassment can bring complaints to the OEEO, or take other action both within and outside the NYPD.[167]

Overhaul of the NYPD’s sexual harassment policies and procedures should result from the June 18, 1998, settlement between the NYPD and United States. This settlement resolved a civil complaint brought by the United States alleging that the NYPD violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by engaging in and permitting acts of sexual harassment against an individual during her employment with the NYPD and by failing to take “appropriate action” to stop the harassment or remedy the effects of the discriminatory treatment.[168] The settlement’s stated purpose is to “ensure that the NYPD takes such affirmative steps as are reasonably necessary to effectively address and prevent discrimination in the NYPD.”[169] Specific measures mandated by the agreement include:[170]

The settlement appears to establish a framework for substantially reducing discrimination in the NYPD.[172] Because of the lack of information provided to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, however, the progress made by NYPD in implementing these measures and the degree of their effectiveness cannot be presently determined.

The OEEO

The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, headed by the deputy commissioner for equal employment opportunity, was established as a separate unit within the NYPD in 1978 to ensure compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its purpose is to promote a workplace free of discrimination and sexual harassment, and to conduct “fair and thorough investigations into all complaints” of employment discrimination.[173]

Officers who believe that they have been subjected to discrimination or sexual harassment may file a complaint with a supervisor, commanding officer, or the OEEO.[174] Upon receiving the complaint, the OEEO notifies the commanding officer or supervisory head of the complainant’s unit as appropriate, to emphasize that reprisal or retaliation against complainants or witnesses is illegal and can lead to disciplinary action.[175] The OEEO then contacts and interviews the complainant, and counsels the complainant regarding options for handling the complaint. Options include meeting with an OEEO investigator or liaison counselor (whose duties involve advising complainants),[176] investigation by the OEEO or commanding officer, “conciliation” by the OEEO or commanding officer (a form of voluntary mediation), or filing a complaint with an outside agency.[177] Communications between the OEEO and the complainant remain confidential.[178]

If the OEEO initiates an investigation, as required upon a determination “that the allegations in the complaint are sufficient to establish a case of unlawful discrimination,”[179] the OEEO must notify the respondent in writing.[180] The respondent has the right to respond to the allegations in writing.[181] If the matter is not conciliated, the OEEO must prepare and send to the police commissioner a confidential written report of the results of the investigation, with recommendations for specific corrective action, if corrective action is deemed appropriate.[182] The commissioner will make a final determination regarding the OEEO report and any corrective action or discipline.[183] The complainant and respondent will also be notified of the outcome of the investigation and any corrective or disciplinary action taken.[184] According to the OEEO, cases are generally completed within 90 days; however, this does not include the time taken by the commissioner to issue his final recommendations and findings.[185]

In 1996, the most recent date for which the NYPD provided information, OEEO investigators received 5 days of training provided by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services, plus 9 days of training at Cornell University’s New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations.[186] Investigators also attended the Basic Methods of Internal Investigations course offered by the Internal Affairs Bureau, and received case management training from experienced ranking officers.[187]

Investigators’ ability to properly utilize this substantial training is questionable given the severe understaffing of the OEEO. The OEEO has complained of a lack of resources and short staffing at least since 1993.[188] With only 11 investigators on staff in 1996, it is difficult to believe that the OEEO could properly investigate all claims filed by NYPD personnel. Indeed, the settlement agreement, discussed above, required the NYPD to increase staffing of the OEEO by 50 percent.[189]

In 1996, the most recent year for which figures were made available to the Commission, only 20 percent of all OEEO complaints were determined to involve a prima facie basis for investigation.[190] In that year, 81 cases were brought to the OEEO, including 21 allegations of sexual harassment and 83 allegations of discrimination.[191] These numbers are down 33 percent, 63 percent, and 16 percent, respectively, from 1995, the first year for which figures are available since the merger of the NYPD with the Housing Authority. Because of the absence of relevant data except for 1995 and 1996, it is impossible to determine whether this decline is the result of an improved work environment or due to other factors. Furthermore, although complaints to the OEEO decreased, formal complaints to outside agencies increased in 1996,[192] possibly indicating that NYPD employees lack confidence in the OEEO and prefer to take their complaints to independent external agencies.[193]

Determining the effectiveness of the OEEO complaint process is impossible without far more information than was provided to the Commission by the NYPD. First, although the OEEO reports that only 20 percent of the complaints filed were determined to require investigation,[194] there is no information regarding the standards used by the OEEO for making this determination. Because of the confidentiality of the findings sent by the OEEO to the police commissioner, no information is available that discusses the factual settings in which the OEEO does or does not initiate an investigation, or the recommendations made by OEEO for various offenses.[195]

Second, no statistics have been provided on the dispositions of OEEO complaints. The Commission does not know what percentage of claims resulted in corrective action or discipline, or what types of corrective action or discipline were imposed. Further, no statistics were provided regarding the consistency between the recommendations of the OEEO and the final resolutions decided by the police commissioner, or the amount of time taken by the commissioner to issue a decision after receiving the OEEO’s report.

The OEEO has the potential to be an important tool to discourage employment discrimination and sexual harassment. Given the relatively few complaints received by the OEEO and the concomitant increase in complaints to outside agencies, however, it appears that the OEEO has not fulfilled this role. Without far more information regarding the investigatory process,[196] the actual conduct of investigations in specific cases, and the final dispositions of complaints, no concrete conclusions or recommendations can be made at this time.

Training

Officer training is widely recognized as a critical element in developing effective policing. Consequently, the NYPD devotes significant time and resources to training its officers. Officers must complete  26 weeks of training before being assigned to active duty, including the Police Academy, in-service training, and other training discussed below.[197] This training is intended to provide each officer with the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out his or her duties effectively and to meet the challenges faced by NYPD officers on a day-to-day basis—challenges intensified by the vast assortment of racial and ethnic groups, religions, and cultures that compose New York City, each with its own history, values, and (often) language.[198]

Community leaders echoed these sentiments, particularly the notion that training was essential in developing good officers. Dennis Walcott, president of the New York Urban League, testified that the department must focus on four primary areas: leadership, training, community outreach, and accountability.[199] Howard Katz, acting director of the Anti-Defamation League, testified that had he the authority to decide what to do with the approximately millions of dollars used to fund the Courtesy, Professionalism and Respect (CPR) program, he would have put all of it into training.[200]

Police Commissioner Howard Safir testified that the police department devotes a considerable amount of time and energy to training of police officers.[201] In fact, as stated by Katherine Lapp, commissioner of the Criminal Justice Services for the State of New York, NYPD officers are “better trained, more educated, and more restrained at any time in the department’s 150-year history when compared to other urban police forces.”[202]

Applicants selected to become NYPD recruits undergo an extensive 7-month training at the department’s Police Academy.[203] Recruits spend 6 months in classroom and tactics training at the academy itself. Later, they spend 1 month in the field and are given “field experience” assignments, after which they return to the classroom for a debriefing period with teachers.[204] Academy training covers four basic disciplines: law, behavioral science, police science, and physical training and tactics.[205]

All new recruits receive 5 days of firearms qualification training and 7 days of tactics training in the Police Academy.[206] After graduation, all officers receive annual firearms training and must qualify in each 6-month cycle.[207] Firearms training focused on developing sound judgment and tactical proficiency is stressed each day.[208] The police commissioner testified that the “goal is to train officers to employ deadly physical force only as a last resort and to utilize the minimum number of shots necessary to achieve the goal of removing a threat of deadly physical force.”[209] In his judgment, this goal indicates that the NYPD “is one of the most restrained large police forces in the country with an average of 1 fatal shooing for every 2,000 officers in 1998.”[210] He also noted that over the past 6 years, 468 officers who were fired upon did not return fire, resulting in 7 officer deaths and 50 injuries.[211] He also stated that the department disciplines those acting improperly and tries to prevent misconduct.[212]

In the classroom, recruits engage in 156 hours of instruction on legal principles, use of force, physical training and tactics, communications, and cultural awareness.[213] All operational commands conduct regular roll call in-service training for 1.5 hours a week using instruction cycles provided by the Police Academy.[214] Legal issues are frequent topics.[215] The cycle that began in June of 1998 provided specific legal training on stop, question and frisk, probable cause, and courtroom testimony to all patrol officers.[216] The Legal Bureau developed the curriculum, which focused much attention on handling complex questions of law that officers face when deciding when and how to conduct a stop.[217] Patrol officers also attend a 2-day course each year presented by the Police Academy that concentrates on diverse topics such as car stops, gangs, search and seizure, handling emotionally disturbed persons with weapons, use of lethal force, crime scene preservation, CPR, verbal judo, and Civilian Compliant Review Board issues.[218] More specialized training includes a plainclothes course, criminal investigations, domestic violence, leadership, executive development, and management courses.[219]

Diversity Training

As the department’s training materials emphasize, competent policing requires each officer to learn effective methods for dealing with all the diverse residents of New York City.[220] To achieve this goal, the NYPD has instituted cultural diversity training alongside the more “traditional” forms of police training such as firearms training and self-defense. Diversity training for each recruit includes 100 hours of this cultural competence training—10 percent of their total training—plus 2-day precinct-based cultural awareness training for all newly assigned staff, designed to educate each arriving officer about the communities that she or he will be serving.[221] This training has led Mayor Giuliani to boast that “not only does the department already have [diversity] training, its training is the best there is.”[222]

In his written statement to the Commission, Mayor Giuliani praised the NYPD as the “most professional” and “best trained” police department in the country.[223] Although the training encompasses a wide variety of areas and subjects, it is “unified by a common theme: respect for human life and respect for the dignity of the citizens of New York.”[224] The mayor called these priorities “paramount in all NYPD training and goals.”[225] According to the mayor, from firearms training to training on proper use of force to training in applicable and relevant laws, officers are taught to protect life and to respect citizens.[226] They are given the best possible tools with which to make what are often difficult and split-second decisions.[227] And their judgment and discretion are refined and honed so that the decisions they make will be the correct ones.[228] He believed that as a result of this rigorous training, “the men and women of the NYPD are overwhelmingly committed to doing their jobs fairly, professionally, and lawfully. They are overwhelmingly committed to offering the public the very highest level of service.”[229]

Unfortunately, Mayor Giuliani’s representations may not be entirely accurate. Cultural diversity training and related materials designed to improve relations between police and their communities and reduce bias and stereotypes are themselves often laced with negative and potentially offensive stereotypes of minority ethnic and religious groups, and women.[230] In addition, some question whether the diversity training is taken seriously by officers who are part of an institution that is often perceived to hold prejudices against people of color and women.[231]

The NYPD’s cultural sensitivity training class and instructors approach cultural diversity issues from the premise that clear communication devoid of prejudice is essential to effective policing.[232] The training materials reinforce this belief that understanding the cultures, values, and histories of each major ethnic and religious group is important to achieve clear communication, an essential element in effective policing.[233]

The training begins with sophisticated discussions of the nature, forms, and barriers to effective communication.[234] Racial epithets and jokes are discussed, noting that using such language will “result in anything but friends.”[235] The “insidious[ness]” of “stereotyping,” defined as “a one-sided, exaggerated and normally prejudicial view of a group, or class of people . . . normally associated with racism and sexism,” is highlighted.[236]

Later lessons directly address the development of personality, attitudes, and beliefs, the process of socialization, and the effect of heredity,[237] attitudes, prejudice, stereotypes, and myths.[238] These materials, geared toward helping officers consciously address and understand the origins of any negative stereotypes they might hold, are a significant step toward deconstructing the prejudice resulting from stereotypes.

Other lessons discuss racism, sexism, and homophobia, noting that these are all forms of oppression and exertions of power over less privileged groups.[239] The curriculum then contains a series of lessons on specific minority communities in an effort to enhance officers’ understanding of the communities and break down stereotypes and prejudices, and to improve communication and understanding.[240]

Police Academy Training Materials

The foundation of officer training is the Police Academy. Included in the academy curriculum is a series of in-class lessons dealing with cultural diversity, including lessons about attitudes and prejudice, sexual harassment, diversity, and specific ethnic groups.[241] Although these materials clearly reflect a meaningful effort by the NYPD to address diversity issues, they are not without problems. For example, although they emphasize that “an officer’s private attitudes should not be permitted to influence his/her official decisions” and instruct officers to “try to show an attitude of neutrality and objectivity,” the materials fail to train an officer regarding how to avoid acting on prejudice.[242]

Furthermore, although the materials often explicitly discuss the evils of stereotypes, prejudice, and bias, they also contain many prejudicial stereotypes themselves.[243]  Even if the stereotypes contained in the materials were generally accurate, and many feel strongly that they are not, their incompatibility with the morality and values of mainstream American culture (see examples below) may cause officers to hold the referenced groups in disdain, which can aggravate, reinforce, or result in additional prejudice. This is compounded by the explicit assumption that all groups should and do want to “assimilate” into American culture.[244] A few examples among many are listed:

The training materials also deliberately and explicitly highlight certain negative stereotypes, presumably in an attempt to allow for open discussion of any prejudices that the officers may hold, and to educate officers about attitudes and terminology that certain groups find offensive. Although theoretically a sound approach, in practice it is not clear whether these discussions serve to alleviate or to exacerbate prejudices. At the very least, the NYPD should be extremely careful about including these discussions in the training materials. Examples include:

Norman Siegel, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, noted that the training materials contained culturally insensitive information.[254] He documented some of those examples in the dissenting report of the mayor’s Task Force on Police/Community Relations.[255] He argued that instead of confronting and undoing stereotypes, the reading material reinforced disparaging stereotypes about immigrants and their impact on the city.[256] Hyun Lee, program director of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, similarly characterized the training materials as “really ludicrous [because] they reinforce stereotypes of immigrant communities, as foreign, as really different.”[257]

Mr. Siegel also criticized the material for being unbalanced.[258] Some of the materials focused too often on certain communities while giving short shrift to others.[259] For example, he noted that there are 11 pages about Jewish people but only three paragraphs about Dominicans, the fastest growing immigrant community in the city.[260] In trying to find solutions for these problems, Mr. Siegel volunteered to start a class to undo stereotypes and present them at local police precincts.[261] Unfortunately, he reported that he was prevented from doing so because of “administration and . . . management” politics.[262]

Some may feel discussing prejudice and racism would be difficult in any context. In the context of training police officers to deal with a myriad of different ethnic and religious communities on a day-to-day basis in intense situations, this discussion would be extremely difficult. The training materials struggle to address these concerns. The NYPD has decided that instruction geared toward improving understanding of all the major cultures and religions of New York’s residents will assist officers in policing different communities. Because fully understanding each culture and religion could take years of instruction—years which the NYPD does not have to train its officers—this approach quickly becomes problematic. The materials are forced to oversimplify and generalize when discussing New York’s communities of color.[263] The oversimplifications and generalizations are likely to be stereotypes. To their credit, the materials themselves acknowledge this.[264] Some of the stereotypes used, like those listed above, however, are negative and of questionable relevance to the goal of training able police officers, and should, therefore, be removed.

In recognition of this problem, the materials caution officers against stereotyping individuals based on their identification with a given community. The materials candidly note that “[n]o one should rely on culture-specific ‘guidebooks’ or simplistic do’s and don’ts lists. While such approaches to cultural awareness are tempting, they do not provide sufficient insight and are often counterproductive. . . . It is more useful to have a broad framework from which to operate when analyzing and interpreting any situation.”[265] This concept has been echoed by leading community members.[266] Although recognizing these limitations may be commendable, the materials are internally inconsistent because they send a confusing message: Should officers treat each individual differently according to the training he or she has received about the individual’s ethnicity, or should the officer treat everyone the same? Clarity on this point is crucial. The confusion generated by the present materials is, at the very least, counterproductive.

The NYPD should reconsider its approach to diversity training and should eliminate negative stereotypes embedded within the materials. This could improve consistency of the message delivered to trainees, while leaving no question in the minds of officers regarding how they should interact with all New York residents.

Many in the New York community feel that the current training program needs improvement. The dissenters in the mayor’s Task Force on Police/Community Relations advocated lengthening the training program to 1 year.[267] James Savage, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, testified that the department should improve its stop and frisk policy, including “how we engage and disengage a stop and frisk of somebody who has not committed a crime where we have, in fact, made a mistake.”[268] Dennis Walcott of the New York Urban League testified that the department must constantly reinforce the cultural sensitivity training on officers serving communities of color.[269] They must know the nuances, culture, and issues regarding immigrant populations and involve communities at local levels in the dialogue and discussion.[270]

Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, president of the Hispanic Federation and a member of the NYPD’s Board of Visitors, said that NYPD training should include “cultural and language sensitivity training for officers.”[271] Further, she advocated doing a “massive training and a total turnaround around the way this police department deals with Latino youth, deals with youth of color as a whole.”[272] Young people “feel as if their lives are in danger . . . [especially when] they’re stopped unnecessarily.”[273] Ms. Cortes-Vazquez thought that there “needs to be an organizational shakedown in terms of respect, discourteous behavior, and abusive language.”[274] Trainers should be closely evaluated and reviewed.[275] Some trainers only get a day’s worth of training before they begin instructing.[276] Training of trainers should be “totally modified” and expanded to ensure that quality is maintained.[277] She recommended modifying the “substance of the training,” including eliminating use of offensive training materials.[278] In addition, she believed that “the way that information was communicated is quite scary in the sense that it is alarming.”[279]

Ms. Cortes-Vazquez argued that since most abuses involve veteran officers, not new recruits, the former should be required to participate in these training sessions.[280] In addition, such training should include language preparation, especially in those languages spoken where the officers are assigned.[281] Howard Katz, acting director of the Anti-Defamation League, agreed and stated, “When any officer reaches another level, gets promoted, whether it becomes a sergeant or detective or a commanding officer, they need to be retrained.”[282] Further, he wanted this retraining requirement to be “systemic” through­out the NYPD.[283]

The NYPD should consult with community leaders from each ethnic and religious group discussed in the materials to help ensure that negative stereotypes and inflammatory language are removed.[284] As discussed earlier, Norman Siegel of the New York Civil Liberties Union and Rev. Calvin Butts volunteered to assist in teaching diversity and cultural sensitivity directly to cadets and officers. Although the concepts of cultural understanding and rejection of stereotypes are far from mutually exclusive, the materials must be sensitive to the tension inherent in these concepts. They must take steps to ensure that officers understand how good officers are supposed to behave and what the differences among cultures may be that are relevant to policing.

Other Diversity Training

Other examples of the continuing diversity training received by officers include “streetwise” language and culture training (African/Caribbean American, Spanish, Haitian/Creole, Russian, and Chinese);[285] in-service training;[286] OEEO orientation, describing key discrimination concepts and terminology and outlining the OEEO process;[287] 8 hours of in-service reinstatement training dealing with employment discrimination and sexual harassment issues;[288] precinct orientation; and the Precinct/Community Partnership program, which helps introduce new officers to the communities that they will be serving.[289]

Police Commissioner Safir particularly touted the NYPD’s Streetwise Language, Culture and Police Work in NYC course.[290] It is aimed at new graduates and lasts a full day.[291] This course provides in-depth information on language and culture for five groups: Hispanic, Chinese, African/Caribbean, Russian, and Haitian.[292] The course uses media, role plays, case studies, presentations by seasoned police officers, problem-solving exercises, and interactive language instruction.