The CCRB's core mission is to investigate thoroughly and expeditiously the thousands of complaints filed each year against New York City police officers. The New York City Charter also directs that the CCRB establish a system by which complaints can be resolved through alternative dispute resolution, conduct an ongoing public education program, and issue semiannual reports about its activities and operations. In addition, the CCRB's makes policy recommendations to the NYPD based on information it gathers through the receipt and investigation of complaints.

Performance Indicators — Investigations

The CCRB improved its productivity during 2006 for the third year in a row even as the number of complaint filings continued to rise. The board closed 53% more cases in 2006 than it did in 2002, and maintained the high quality of investigations, as measured by the rate at which it made conclusive determinations about whether misconduct occurred. The agency’s productivity increases stemmed from efficiency initiatives targeted at board members and investigations division staff.

• Thanks to a concerted effort to maintain a high investigative staff headcount, in 2005 and 2006 the agency had average investigator headcounts of 143 and 142 respectively, the highest in the agency’s history. The high investigator headcount, along with a continued emphasis on efficiency in the investigative process, resulted in lower individual caseloads, allowing investigators to be more productive. In 2006, for example, each investigator submitted an average of 51 cases to the board for closure, a 9% increase from the 47 cases each submitted in 2005 and 38% higher than the 37 cases the average investigator completed in 2002.



• Also in 2006, measures instituted in 2005 to increase the number of cases reviewed in panel meetings of CCRB board members continued to produce productivity gains. In 2006, the board conducted 40 regularly scheduled panel meetings, and each panel reviewed an average of 175 cases per meeting. By contrast, in 2005, 45 three-member panels met, each of which reviewed an average of 145 cases, and in 2002, 44 panels met and reviewed an average of just 105 cases at each session.
  

• The board achieved these productivity gains without sacrificing investigative quality. Last year marked the seventh straight year in which the CCRB made findings on the merits in its fully investigated cases over 60% of the time. During 2006, the board made findings on the merits in 63% of the allegations it fully investigated, only slightly lower than the 64% five-year average from 2002 through 2006. This rate is one measure of the quality of investigations, since such a finding can only be made in cases where the investigation uncovers enough evidence to make a conclusive determination (substantiated, exonerated or unfounded) on the facts and law regarding each allegation raised by the complaint.
  

• Of the officers against whom the CCRB substantiated allegations in 1995, the police department disciplined only 31%. From 2002 onward, the department has imposed some discipline in more than 70% of the substantiated cases forwarded by the CCRB. The department imposed discipline in 78% of the substantiated CCRB cases that it resolved in 2006, the highest rate since 1993. For more detail on the NYPD’s handling of substantiated CCRB cases, see the Police Discipline section.
  

• Although the agency has dramatically improved its performance since 2003, the sustained increase in complaint filings will continue to present a serious obstacle to timely investigations. The agency closed 14% more cases in 2006 than in 2005, and closed a 53% more cases in 2006 than in 2002, yet with a 66% increase in the rate at which complaints were filed over these same five years, the agency’s docket has continued to rise, and has now increased a total of 74% since 2002.
  

* Findings on the merits include "substantiated," "employee exonerated," and "unfounded" — those findings where the board was able to come to a definite conclusion about the validity of the allegation.

Mediation

• Because mediation often results in satisfactory outcomes for both complainants and police officers, enhances police-community relations, and may prevent a recurrence of the actions that led to the complaint, the CCRB has made the program a priority. The CCRB continues to educate the public about the benefits of mediation, encourages mediation in appropriate cases, and trains investigators in special techniques for discussing mediation with complainants.
  

• During 2006, the Mediation Unit closed more cases than ever before: a total of 262 cases, including 130 successful mediations. The unit’s case closures in 2006 represented an increase of 44% over the 90 successful mediations conducted in 2005 and a 78% increase when compared to the 73 cases mediated in 2002.

*A case is closed as mediation attempted when the civilian and officer both agree to mediate but the civilian fails to appear for the scheduled mediation twice without good cause, or fails to respond to phone calls and letters to set up such a session.

Outreach

• The outreach unit promotes awareness of the CCRB by visiting high school classes, community boards, religious organizations, political groups and non-profit organizations around the five boroughs. It also drafts the agency's semi-annual reports, press releases, website, and other public and media materials.

• With the agency focusing its resources on the Investigations Division, the staff of the outreach unit shrank from four employees in 2004 and two in 2005. Due to staff turnover, the unit shrank to just one employee in the second half of 2006. Consequently, the unit conducted only 42 information sessions in 2006, down from the 99 meetings conducted in 2004 and 92 in 2003. With an additional staff member hired at the beginning of 2007, the unit expects to return its productivity to the levels of 2004 and 2005.

• The outreach unit has developed materials in different languages, with brochures available in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and English. Its pocket-sized pamphlets, which suggest ways to minimize problems in encounters with police, are available in Spanish and English.
  

Policy Recommendations

• On May 9, 2006, the CCRB recommended that the NYPD review the training it provides officers in the context of existing procedures relating to policing demonstrations. After reviewing videotape and testimonial evidence from two complaints that stemmed from the 2004 Republican National Convention, the board concluded that in these two instances deputy chiefs’ imprecise and inaudible orders (given without the use of amplification devices) may have resulted in the unnecessary arrest of protesters. On May 11, 2006, Police Commissioner Kelly responded with a letter that implicitly supported the deputy chiefs’ actions and indicated that he strongly disagreed with the board’s recommendation.

• On November 9, 2006, the CCRB recommended that the NYPD issue an order informing officers of the limited circumstances under which they can seize police union “courtesy” cards. The recommendation stemmed from a review of ten cases involving 11 officers, all of whom incorrectly believed that they were entitled to confiscate the cards without evidence that the cards were acquired or used illegally. According to the police department, which has met with the police unions regarding this issue, the unions plan to place warnings on the cards that would make officers’ seizures of the cards lawful, regardless of whether the cards are evidence of a crime. When such cards are issued, the CCRB will re-evaluate the propriety of officers’ seizures of them.