New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 8 - Executive Orders (Andrew M. Cuomo) › Section 8.203 - Executive Order No. 203: New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the State of New York obliges
					 the Governor to take care that the laws of New York are faithfully executed;
					 and
WHEREAS, I have solemnly sworn, pursuant to Article 13,
					 Section 1 of the Constitution, to support the Constitution and faithfully
					 discharge the duties of the Office of Governor; and
WHEREAS, beginning on May 25, 2020, following the
					 police-involved death of George Floyd in Minnesota, protests have taken place
					 daily throughout the nation and in communities across New York State in
					 response to police-involved deaths and racially-biased law enforcement to
					 demand change, action, and accountability; and
WHEREAS, there is a long and painful history in New York
					 State of discrimination and mistreatment of black and African-American citizens
					 dating back to the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in America;
					 and
WHEREAS, this recent history includes a number of incidents
					 involving the police that have resulted in the deaths of unarmed civilians,
					 predominantly black and African-American men, that have undermined the
					 public"TMs confidence and trust in our system of law enforcement and criminal
					 justice, and such condition is ongoing and urgently needs to be rectified;
					 and
WHEREAS, these deaths in New York State include those of
					 Anthony Baez, Amadou Diallo, Ousmane Zango, Sean Bell, Ramarley Graham, Patrick
					 Dorismond, Akai Gurley, and Eric Garner, amongst others, and, in other states,
					 include Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Laquan
					 McDonald, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Philando Castile, Antwon Rose Jr., Ahmaud
					 Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, amongst others,
WHEREAS, these needless deaths have led me to sign into law
					 the Say Their Name Agenda which reforms aspects of policing in New York State;
					 and
WHEREAS, government has a responsibility to ensure that all
					 of its citizens are treated equally, fairly, and justly before the law;
					 and
WHEREAS, recent outpouring of protests and demonstrations
					 which have been manifested in every area of the state have illustrated the
					 depth and breadth of the concern; and
WHEREAS, black lives matter; and
WHEREAS, the foregoing compels me to conclude that urgent
					 and immediate action is needed to eliminate racial inequities in policing, to
					 modify and modernize policing strategies, policies, procedures, and practices,
					 and to develop practices to better address the particular needs of communities
					 of color to promote public safety, improve community engagement, and foster
					 trust; and
WHEREAS, the Division of the Budget is empowered to
					 determine the appropriate use of funds in furtherance of the state laws and New
					 York State Constitution; and
WHEREAS, in coordination with the resources of the Division
					 of Criminal Justice Services, the Division of the Budget can increase the
					 effectiveness of the criminal justice system by ensuring that the local police
					 agencies within the state have been actively engaged with stakeholders in the
					 local community and have locally-approved plans for the strategies, policies
					 and procedures of local police agencies; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State
					 of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
					 the Laws of the State of New York, in particular Article IV, section one, I do
					 hereby order and direct as follows:
The director of the Division of the Budget, in consultation
					 with the Division of Criminal Justice Services, shall promulgate guidance to be
					 sent to all local governments directing that:
Each local government entity which has a police agency
					 operating with police officers as defined under 1.20 of the criminal procedure
					 law must perform a comprehensive review of current police force deployments,
					 strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, and develop a plan to improve
					 such deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, for the
					 purposes of addressing the particular needs of the communities served by such
					 police agency and promote community engagement to foster trust, fairness, and
					 legitimacy, and to address any racial bias and disproportionate policing of
					 communities of color.
Each chief executive of such local government shall convene
					 the head of the local police agency, and stakeholders in the community to
					 develop such plan, which shall consider evidence-based policing strategies,
					 including but not limited to, use of force policies, procedural justice; any
					 studies addressing systemic racial bias or racial justice in policing; implicit
					 bias awareness training; de-escalation training and practices; law enforcement
					 assisted diversion programs; restorative justice practices; community-based
					 outreach and conflict resolution; problem-oriented policing; hot spots
					 policing; focused deterrence; crime prevention through environmental design;
					 violence prevention and reduction interventions; model policies and guidelines
					 promulgated by the New York State Municipal Police Training Council; and
					 standards promulgated by the New York State Law Enforcement Accreditation
					 Program.
The political subdivision, in coordination with its police
					 agency, must consult with stakeholders, including but not limited to membership
					 and leadership of the local police force; members of the community, with
					 emphasis in areas with high numbers of police and community interactions;
					 interested non-profit and faith-based community groups; the local office of the
					 district attorney; the local public defender; and local elected officials, and
					 create a plan to adopt and implement the recommendations resulting from its
					 review and consultation, including any modifications, modernizations, and
					 innovations to its policing deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, and
					 practices, tailored to the specific needs of the community and general
					 promotion of improved police agency and community relationships based on trust,
					 fairness, accountability, and transparency, and which seek to reduce any racial
					 disparities in policing.
Such plan shall be offered for public comment to all
					 citizens in the locality, and after consideration of such comments, shall be
					 presented to the local legislative body in such political subdivision, which
					 shall ratify or adopt such plan by local law or resolution, as appropriate, no
					 later than April 1, 2021; and
Such local government shall transmit a certification to the
					 Director of the Division of the Budget to affirm that such process has been
					 complied with and such local law or resolution has been adopted; and
The Director of the Division of the Budget shall be
					 authorized to condition receipt of future appropriated state or federal funds
					 upon filing of such certification for which such local government would
					 otherwise be eligible; and
The Director is authorized to seek the support and
					 assistance of any state agency in order to effectuate these purposes.
Signed: Andrew M. Cuomo
Dated: June 12, 2020