NEW YORK (NEWS10) – The Police Statistics and Transparency (STAT) Act sponsored by State Senator Brad Hoylman (Manhattan-D/WFP) and Assemblymember Joe Lentol (Brooklyn-D/WFP) now takes effect, almost six months after it was signed into law by Gov. Cuomo. This legislation requires New York State to collect and report data on the race, ethnicity and sex of anyone arrested and charged with a misdemeanor or violation, as well as of anyone who dies while in police custody or an attempt to establish custody.
The Police STAT Act passed the New York State Legislature and was signed into law in June amid nationwide protests against police brutality.
“Starting today, we’ll finally have the data necessary to identify and root out the systemic and discriminatory policing practices that law enforcement uses to target Black and Brown New Yorkers,” Senator Hoylman said.
The Police STAT Act creates new reporting requirements to shine a light on policing practices in New York. The legislation requires the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services to capture and publicly report on the race, ethnicity and sex of individuals who die in an arrest-related death, and require New York’s Office of Court Administration to publicly report the same demographic data for those charged with misdemeanors or violations.
With the implementation of the Police STAT Act, New York is now required to collect and report a broad range of data on policing, including:
- The total number of people who die during an interaction with police or in police custody
- The race, ethnicity, age and sex of anyone who dies during an interaction with police or in police custody
- The location of law enforcement activity and arrest-related deaths
- The total number of arrests and tickets for violations and misdemeanors
- The race, ethnicity, age and sex of anyone charged with a violation or misdemeanor
Data will be collected and published monthly on the public websites of the Division of Criminal Justice Services and Office of Court Administration. The Police STAT Act also includes safeguards to ensure personal identifying information, such as an individual’s name, date of birth or Social Security number, is not released.
