OFF THE WIRE
PARTS 4 & 5
STRATEGY #4: EDUCATE THE PUBLIC
PROFILE: Police
Practices Project, ACLU of Northern California The Police Practices
Project conducts education programs to teach citizens about their
constitutional rights. One aspect of the police abuse problem, the
project believes, is that the police tend to abuse certain people partly
because they think these individuals don't know their rights, or don't
know how to assert their rights. The project also believes that its
programs have the added advantage of recruiting groups and individuals
to work in police reform campaigns.
The project also publishes
wallet-size cards in English, Spanish and Chinese that inform citizens
about what to do or say in encounters with the police. These cards have
been widely distributed in the community. (One card-holder reported that
he pulled out his card when confronted by a police officer, only to
have the officer reach into his wallet and pull out his own copy of the
same card!)
The project believes that individual citizens and
community groups become informed about police policies just by
participating in the preparation of educational materials and training
sessions. That participation also fosters awareness about particular
areas of police practice that need reform. Most important, education
empowers even the most disenfranchised people and helps deter the police
from treating them abusively.
If Your Are Stopped in Your Car
Show your driver's license and registration upon request. Your can in
certain cases be searched without a warrant so long as the police have
probable cause.
To protect yourself later, you should make it clear that you do not consent to a search.
If you are given a ticket, you should sign it, otherwise you can be arrested. You can always fight the case in court later.
If you are suspected of drunken driving and refuse a blood, urine or breath test, your driving license can be suspended.
If You Are Arrested or Taken to a Police Station You have the right to
remain silent and talk to a lawyer before you talk to the police. Tell
the police nothing except your name and address. Do not give
explanations, excuses or stories. You can make your defense in court
based on what you and your lawyer decide is best.
Ask to see a
lawyer immediately. If you cannot pay for a lawyer, you have a right to a
free one, and you should ask the police how the lawyer can be
contacted. Do not talk without a lawyer.
STRATEGY # 5: USE THE POLITICAL PROCESS TO WIN REFORMS
PROFILE: The New York Civil Liberties Union's Campaign for a "Real Civilian Review Board"
The time is August 1988; the place, New York City. Manhattan's Lower
East Side neighborhood is rocked by one of the most serious outbreaks of
police violence in years. The violence occurs as the police, declaring a
curfew, begin to eject homeless people and their supporters from
Tompkins Square Park. Fifty-two people, most of them innocent
bystanders, sustain serious injuries at the hands of the police. Much of
the violence is recorded on video. Yet the officers who are guilty of
misconduct go virtually unpunished; only one receives more than a 30-day
suspension from the force.
The city's Civilian Complaint Review
Board (CCRB) comes under heightened scrutiny. Although it has existed
since 1966, the CCRB has long been criticized for its lack of
independence and secretive proceedings. Half of its 12 members are
appointed by the mayor, the other half by the police commissioner. Most
of the CCRB's investigators are police officers.
During 1991, the
campaign calls on the city's community boards to pass resolutions in
support of "a real CCRB." (The community boards are elected bodies that
have advisory jurisdiction over a variety of local matters, such as
zoning and land use). Campaign spokespersons debate police department
representatives before some 30 community boards throughout the city, and
19 boards pass resolutions calling for revisions of the present system
(see sample resolution in sidebar). Each board that passes a resolution
becomes a member of the campaign coalition. Coalition members set up
tables at street fairs and other community events to collect signatures
on petitions for "a real CCRB."
More than 1,000 signatures are
collected. The NYCLU, after garnering this broad support develops
legislation for submission to the City Council. The bill is endorsed by
14 Council members. At this writing, the bill has yet to be debated, but
the cause of true civilian review in New York City has already been
advanced.
