BILL NUMBER: S4966
SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the New York city charter, in relation to allowing
access to sealed records and certain confidential records by the New
York city civilian complaint review board in furtherance of the board's
duties and functions
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA:
To grant New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board ("the Board")
access to certain sealed and confidential records in furtherance of the
Board's duties and functions.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill adds a new section 442 to Chapter 18-A of the New
York City Charter to provide that, notwithstanding any other provision
of state or local law, the Board must be granted access to any sealed
record, or any record that is confidential pursuant to section 50-b of
the Civil Rights Law, as long as this access is in furtherance of the
Board's duties and functions. This section also provides that, once the
Board receives sealed records, access to those records will be limited
only to members and employees of the Board who have direct involvement
in the matter requiring use of the records. These records will generally
not be shared outside the Board and will at all times need to be clearly
marked as sealed. However, the Board will be allowed to disclose sealed
records to a public agency for the purpose of a referral for prosecution
or investigation, or in furtherance of a disciplinary proceeding. The
Board will also be allowed to disclose sealed records to the employee,
who is the subject of a disciplinary proceeding, or that employee's
representative, subject to appropriate protections.
The new section contains a number of confidentiality protections related
to the handling of records obtained by the Board, including notification
of those who are protected by confidentiality as well as destruction or
return of records when the Board no longer has need of them. The Board
will be required to establish protocols in consultation with the City's
Chief Privacy Officer to govern the proper acquisition, use, storage,
and other handling and disposition of, and access to, records obtained
pursuant to the new section. Public agencies, employees subject to a
disciplinary proceeding, and those employees' representatives who
receive sealed records from the Board, pursuant to this new section,
will be subject to the Board protocols and other confidentiality
protections similar to those applicable to the Board.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Civilian Complaint Review Board receives numerous complaints alleg-
ing racial bias in policing. Racial profiling can lead to arrests and/or
proceedings that are dismissed and sealed. Access to such sealed records
is important to the Board's ability to conduct investigations because
sealed information can help the Board identify a pattern of biased
behavior. Further, a civilian who has been arrested may not be able to
have their complaint fully investigated by the Board because the arrest
record is sealed. As a result, the Board is unable to get full access to
the records to determine whether their allegations of misconduct are
substantiated. Providing the Board with access to sealed records would
not only be useful to the thorough, effective, and timely investigation
and resolution of individual civilian complaints, it would also be valu-
able to the ongoing review of police conduct and to the improvement of
community relations with New York City's Police Department. Access to
sealed records will also allow the Board to provide concrete, empirical
and anecdotal evidence as to the effectiveness of reform efforts.
This bill strikes a balance between the police accountability that
underlies the mission of the Board and the important policy of maintain-
ing the confidentiality of sealed records (as well as records that are
confidential under Civil Rights Law section 50-b). This balance is
achieved by including many strict requirements governing the proper use
and handling of any sealed records shared with the Board, which will
provide necessary assurance to those who are protected by the laws and
policies governing confidentiality. Given that the Board is an integral
part of the review of police officer conduct, it is consistent with the
goals of police accountability that it be able to access records of the
very conduct that it is required to investigate.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: Referred to Cities 1
 
FISCAL IMPLICATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.