🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
New York Attorney General Letitia James proposed a series of systemic changes to New York City law enforcement practices in a report released on Wednesday, which included recommendations to reform to departmental hiring processes and promotions.
The report outlined steps for restructuring the New York City Police Department's (NYPD) leadership with the involvement of a third-party commission, noting that promotions beyond the rank of captain are determined internally by officers who already hold management roles. It cited a 2017 New York Times article that found most officers in NYPD executive positions were white men and suggested external oversight to manage lack of diversity.
"Although NYPD is diverse when compared to other law enforcement agencies, Black officers are underrepresented in leadership positions and among patrol officers," the report stated. While white officers account for roughly 45 percent of the NYPD, they receive 80 percent of executive promotions, it added. Women officers make up an even smaller percentage of the department's leadership roles.
The report said a commission to address what it called a "dearth of diversity among NYPD's higher ranks" could help strengthen the relationship between New York City law enforcement and community members. "A police force that reflects the community it serves can help to establish trust and rapport between officers and residents and has been linked to lower crime rates," the proposal continued.
The attorney general's recommendations were one of several that concluded an extensive report detailing the NYPD's response to protests. The report included preliminary findings of the office's ongoing investigation into allegations of misconduct against NYPD officers. It described numerous testimonies from witnesses who chronicled NYPD officers using force, pepper spray and other intimidation tactics against those participating in New York City rallies.
Demonstrations against police violence and racism have taken place across the city for more than a month, since George Floyd's death in custody of Minneapolis police officers on May 25. Protestors and lawmakers have called for a number of reforms to police agencies amid rallies, with less funding and greater community oversight at the forefront of recent policy initiatives.
NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, Richard Esposito, responded to the attorney general's report in a statement to Newsweek on Wednesday.
"This is of course a political and not an investigative document," Esposito said in the statement. "Rather than rehash rhetoric we should come together—state and local law enforcement and electeds—and confront and solve the crisis at hand. Meanwhile we at the NYPD will continue to protect and serve the public as we have for 175 years."
Newsweek reached out to Attorney General James' office for additional comments but did not receive a reply in time for publication.
