What's happening
This bill requires law enforcement and peace officers in New York to record the race of individuals they meaningfully interact with in their memo books.
Why it matters
Aims to improve transparency and oversight. by requiring officers to document the race of individuals during any “meaningful interaction,” making it easier to track and analyze patterns in law enforcement encounters.
Could help identify and address potential racial profiling or bias. by creating a record that can be reviewed by oversight bodies, policymakers, and the public.
Establishes clearer definitions for what counts as a reportable encounter. , clarifying that only interactions related to official duties—such as traffic stops—must be recorded, while casual, non-investigative conversations are exempt.
May impact police practices and community trust. , as the requirement to record race could incentivize more careful, consistent reporting and foster dialogue about fairness in policing.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Track Police Interactions by Race
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5283
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 7, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. RAMOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring law enforcement agents and peace officers to record certain information to their memo books
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-t to read as follows:
§ 837-t. Records in memo books. Every law enforcement agent or peace officer shall make a record in his or her memo book of the race of every person the agent or officer has a meaningful interaction with during the course of performing his or her official duties. For the purpose of this section, "meaningful interaction" shall include, but not be limited to conversations entered into pursuant to traffic stops. "Meaningful interaction" shall not include casual conversations the agent or officer engages in which are not germane to or in furtherance of performing his or her investigatory duties as a law enforcement agent or peace officer.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08842-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.