NYPD to share internal records with agency investigating racial profiling. Some say it's not enough.

The NYPD has agreed to start sharing data and police records with a new watchdog team tasked with investigating allegations of bias-based policing and racial profiling lodged against its officers, just weeks after a federal monitor threatened to seek a court order to force the department to do so.

Since the watchdog group, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, launched a unit to review claims of police bias last year, the NYPD’s refusal to turn over records has made it nearly impossible for investigators to do their jobs. As of last month, the police department had rejected all 100 of the records requests submitted by the team.

The memorandum of understanding, signed earlier this month by outgoing NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, lays out how the NYPD will share materials with the watchdog agency for racial profiling complaints. But it also has its limitations.

The agreement sets limits on how records turned over by the NYPD can be used. For instance, the agreement bars the CCRB from launching new investigations into NYPD officers based on information they learn when reviewing officers’ records. It also prohibits the agency from sharing the records with the public, unless the NYPD grants it permission to do so.

The agreement also does not set clear deadlines for when the police department must turn over materials to the CCRB, either. It merely says the NYPD should share records “within a reasonable period of time.”

The NYPD said in an emailed statement that it is committed to policing the city in a way that is “free from any form of bias or racial profiling” and that it will now share records with the watchdog agency.

The NYPD itself investigated allegations of racial profiling and biased policing until recently, because the police watchdog agency only has jurisdiction to look into a few types of complaints, including force and discourtesy. The police department reviews other allegations against officers.

In 2021, the City Council passed legislation that gave the CCRB the power to investigate those types of complaints instead. The following year, the board formed a new unit solely dedicated to racial profiling and bias-based policing complaints and hired the attorney who helped to secure the overhaul of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices to run the team.

When the NYPD was responsible for investigating racial profiling and bias allegations against its own officers, the department hardly ever imposed discipline. Between 2014 and 2021, the department reviewed 3,480 such complaints and found officers broke department policy in just four of those cases — approximately 0.1% — Rice testified in March.

But as the CCRB continues to grapple with staffing shortages, the watchdog agency said the deal with police might not be enough to save its newly formed racial profiling team. The unit has 16 open positions, which the agency maintains that it won’t have enough money to fill under the proposed city budget. Without additional funding, the CCRB has said it will ask the NYPD to go back to investigating racial profiling complaints in house, like they did before the unit was formed.

At this month’s board meeting, Rice said the CCRB has hired 17 of the unit’s 33 positions but cannot afford to fill the remaining jobs. The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“While the CCRB is committed to thoroughly investigating profiling complaints, we cannot do this without the strong budgetary support,” Chair Arva Rice said at a recent board meeting. “Profiling complaints are extremely complex and resource-intensive.”