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Months after a key piece of police reform legislation first came before Syracuse’s Common Council, legislators still have yet to vote on the policy. 

The legislation, called the Right to Know Act, is designed to increase transparency in interactions between Syracuse Police Department officers and city residents. The proposed law would require SPD officers to identify themselves while interacting with the public, obtain consent to conduct unwarranted searches and record their interactions while making stops.

The act’s passage is one of nine demands of the People’s Agenda for Policing. Demilitarizing SPD and removing school resource officers from city schools are among the other demands included in the agenda, which 15 local advocacy groups created.

As the council prepares to vote on the act Oct. 13, here’s an explainer about what the legislation would do and why activist groups in the city are pushing for its passage:

What would the Right to Know Act do? 

The act would require officers to provide their name and rank to members of the public they approach and offer their business card at the end of interactions that don’t end in an arrest. The cards would provide information on how residents can file complaints with Syracuse’s Citizen Review Board, which reviews complaints against SPD officers and can recommend discipline.

The city would have to post quarterly reports detailing the number of searches its officers conducted, breaking down the data by race, gender and age. The reports would also note how many people denied consent to be searched.

SPD would also have to provide on-call translators for interactions with residents who are not fluent in English.

Where did the act come from? 

The legislation stems from New York City’s Right to Know Act, which the city enacted in October 2018 after residents expressed anger over the city police department’s disproportionate use of stop-and-frisk searches on Black and Latino residents.

Community organizers in Syracuse first brought their version of the Right to Know Act to Syracuse’s City Hall in July 2019, but it was never passed.

Yiwei He | Design Editor

The act regained attention in the city when local activist groups submitted the People’s Agenda for Policing to Mayor Ben Walsh in June. Activists and community members have said the legislation will increase accountability for officers in the department and transform the relationship between SPD and the people it serves. 

Walsh agreed in July to implement the act in practice but deferred to the Common Council to officially pass the legislation.

Why has the act stalled? 

Some of the city’s councilors have questioned how officers would implement the proposed guidelines in fast-moving interactions and what consequences officers would face if they don’t follow the guidelines.

SPD already has much of the paperwork and information to comply with the act, Common Council President Helen Hudson has said. Enacting the act would simply make sure SPD fully implements the policies, Hudson said. 

Councilors delayed the legislation at Monday’s council meeting, citing concerns from SPD Chief Kenton Buckner. At a public safety meeting Sept. 16, Buckner asked for more time to review the legislation before a vote took place.

Buckner said at the meeting that he was concerned the legislation’s good intentions could be overshadowed by “poorly-written, dated parameters.” The legislation would be a “monumental” logistical change, he said at the time.

Councilor At-Large Khalid Bey said at the time that the council does “not have to look for the OK from a department to put a law into place.” 

The council’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Published on September 30, 2020 at 12:04 am

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3