What the NYPD owes the public

The successes of today’s New York City can be traced to many different elements of our government and private sector, but the role of the NYPD in that success can never be overshadowed.

The data are clear that we are the safest we have ever been in recent history, and much of that credit goes to the NYPD.

But the key point here is the data. Data do not take sides. Data do not have opinions. And to the NYPD’s credit, it has become more and more open with sharing its information with the City Council and the public over the last few years, all while bringing crime numbers down to historic levels.

With all of this progress, the NYPD must continue to build trust in our neighborhoods through police-community relations. We must also be vigilant in looking beyond the badge at the humans that serve the public with dignity and respect. Police officers are human, and not all humans carry themselves in a manner that is worthy of that badge.

Over the last few months, the Daily News has published extensive investigations into police misconduct and the consequences those officers faced. From the alleged cases of Detective Thomas Rice’s dozens of false witness reports to Sgt. Ruben Duque’s stolen overtime pay and the many incidents of improper use of force, all of these actions are clear violations of the public trust.

All of the good that could be done through the neighborhood coordination program will only go so far if the public is unable to see some accountability within the NYPD ranks. If the police want to have the right to police themselves, they must shine a light on the process to prove their system is weeding out the bad apples.

We do not want to hurt the NYPD. We believe it is the best, but we expect it to always strive to be better.

While Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill have said they are committed to working with Albany to amend 50-a — the state law that has caused the NYPD to stop releasing disciplinary records due to a new interpretation the city invoked in 2016 — we at the City Council believe there are some steps that the NYPD can take now while still protecting the privacy of its officers.

We don’t need names, addresses or personal information, but we have to see the data.

How many officers are terminated? What are the types of misconduct and what are the consequences? What is the rank of the officer? Where are the details of those cases with redacted information?

The families of police brutality victims should never have to rely on partnering with City Council members on amicus briefs to attain information on investigations such as in the case of Ramarley Graham, where the public is still waiting on the departmental disciplinary proceedings of two of the officers involved in Graham’s death.

We can learn a lot about how the NYPD polices itself and whether it is taking police misconduct seriously if the information is coming directly from the department. Unfortunately, for now, we are forced to wake up and read about the cushy retirements, promotions and potential favoritism in the local papers.

We owe it to the public, we owe it to the victims of police misconduct, we owe it to survivors of police shootings, and, most of all, we owe it to the tens of thousands of NYPD officers who are truly dedicated to serving New York City and risking their lives to keep us all safe.

Their names should not be tainted by the actions of the few who take advantage of their authority and do harm to our city and the badges they pin to their chests.

We’ve seen the mayor truly advocate for policies in Albany such as universal pre-K. So for us to believe that the mayor and commissioner are sincere in their efforts to amend 50-a, we must see a dedicated advocacy effort at the state level.

But in the meantime, a couple doses of sunlight would go a long way toward improving the public’s trust in the NYPD.