Justice + Safety
📢 We Keep Us Safe!
Across the world, the safest communities are not those that are the most policed, but rather are those with the best resources – those that meet their residents where they are, and strengthen trust between community and government. We cannot chase quick fixes to feel safe at the expense of justice, rather we must invest in resources Harlem needs to truly be safe. We must fight to implement equitable public safety measures that keep Harlem secure while ensuring the civil rights of our community are respected. I pledge to work together with the residents of this district to:
Invest in jobs & training, health & mental wellness, after-school programs, wrap-around services, programs for the aging, alternatives to incarceration and other vital programs – for Harlem, by Harlem.
Right-size the scope of the NYPD to meet our communities’ true safety needs.
Fight to protect the monumental criminal justice reforms passed in recent years that have attempted to address the systemic failures of over-policing and mass incarceration.
Provide more funding for public defenders to ensure that all defendants have competent and adequate counsel.
Fight to end qualified immunity for police officers to ensure the public is no longer financially responsible for the misconduct of law enforcement.
Our efforts to keep all New Yorkers safe cannot be confined by district lines. As the next Councilmember from Harlem, I will advocate for broader, necessary reforms that require either State or Federal action – and will use all the tools available to advance these policies, including passing City Council Resolutions. It is vital that New York mobilize in support of the following:
Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act | We must increase trust in our legal system by eliminating wrongful convictions. Passing the Challenging Wrong Convictions Act will ensure innocent people are afforded adequate legal representation and a new day in court to bring forward relevant evidence and fully clear their record.
Youth Interrogation Act | Our youth have all the promise that the future holds ahead of them, we must ensure that if they ever find themselves being interrogated by law enforcement, they have a non-waivable right to counsel in order to fully understand their rights under the law.
Police Deception Bill | The concept of innocent-until-proven-guilty is undermined by deceptive, coercive tactics by law enforcement that have caused nearly a third of all wrongful convictions. It is time that we ban this practice.
Fair and Timely Parole | Too many people from our community, particularly Black and Brown people, are denied parole repeatedly based on the “nature of the crime” – a factor the judge already considered when sentencing them – regardless of their showing of rehabilitation. New York must act to require the Parole Board to cite one additional factor beyond the nature of the crime if they are denying parole.
Elder Parole | New York must move towards a system of incarceration that is truly rehabilitative. In doing so, we must allow elder incarcerated individuals who have served at least 15 years the opportunity to demonstrate that they are deserving of parole and have developed into one who can return to society and make a positive, meaningful impact.
Clean Slate | All New Yorkers need access to jobs, housing, and education in order to live safely and securely, but the 2.3 million New Yorkers with conviction histories — who are disproportionately Black and brown —are repeatedly blocked from these life essentials, sometimes serving a civil life sentence. It is crucial that we move to pass the Clean Slate Act to keep our state thriving.