Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly today announced the appointment of three prominent attorneys and former Federal prosecutors - David Kelley, Sharon McCarthy, and Robert Morvillo - to serve as members of a newly established Crime Reporting Review Committee.

"The integrity of our crime reporting system is of the utmost importance to the Department." Commissioner Kelly said.  "It is essential not only for maintaining the confidence of the people we serve, but reliable crime statistics are necessary for the effective planning and evaluation of crime reduction strategies.  I know of none better or more qualified than these three highly regarded professionals to review how well our crime reporting functions."

David Kelley is partner with the law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel.  Before entering private law practice Mr. Kelley served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Kelley served from 2002-2003 as Deputy United States Attorney, and was named on September 11, 2001 as co-chair of the Justice Department's nationwide investigation into the 9/11 attacks.  Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, he clerked for the Honorable T.F. Gilroy Daly of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. He earned his J.D. in 1986 fromNew York Law School and his undergraduate degree in 1981 from the College of William & Mary. While attending law school, Mr. Kelley served as a police officer and fireman in his home township of East Hampton, New York.

Sharon L. McCarthy is a partner in the law firm Kostelanetz & Fink. Prior to entering private practice Ms. McCarthy was an Assistant U.S. Attorney with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. While at the United States Attorney's Office, Ms. McCarthy served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division and later as Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit. From May 2008 until March 2009, Ms. McCarthy served as Special Counsel to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo where she was lead counsel in an investigation into whether there had been political interference with the New York State Police.  Ms. McCarthy received her bachelor's degree from Colgate University and her J.D. from Fordham Law School, where she served as an editor of the Fordham Law Review. Immediately after law school, Ms. McCarthy served as a law clerk to the Honorable John F. Keenan, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Robert G. Morvillo is a partner with the law firm of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello and Bohrer.  Previously, Mr. Morvillo served in the Southern District of New York, first as law clerk for U.S. District Judge William B. Herlands, then as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief Trial Assistant in charge of the Frauds Unit, and finally Chief of the Criminal Division. He left that office in 1973 to become a founding partner of a predecessor to Morvillo, Abramowitz. Mr. Morvillo received a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an editor of the Law Review.

Commissioner Kelly noted that while the NYPD Quality Assurance Division examines more than 50,000 crime reports annually and has identified an annual misclassification rate of approximatley1.5%. "Nevertheless, every system can be improved and our goal is a misclassification rate of zero." he told the three appointees. "By empanelling experienced, independent, objective experts to review our crime reporting system and the quality control mechanisms we have in place, I hope to establish the overall reliability of our statistics and identify any areas in need of improvement."

The Committee will:

• receive detailed briefings on the Department's crime reporting system and auditing functions,
• review summary documents regarding the nature and trends in crime misclassification,
• visit field commands to get an understanding of the crime reporting system in operation,
• attend COMPSTAT meetings and/ or review recordings of meetings to understand the role of crime statistics in the Department's system of management accountability,
• review the Department's Crime Reporting Reference Guide to ensure that direction to field commands is clear and unambiguous,
• review the Department's disciplinary system with regard to cases involving crime reporting, and
• assess the Department's public dissemination of crime data and its relationship to maintaining public confidence in the Department's crime statistics.

The Committee has been asked to complete its work over the next three to six months, with the full cooperation of all units in the Police Department.