Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright (D-Central and West Harlem) recently announced that the Assembly passed a package of bills to provide guidelines to help law enforcement agencies serve their communities more effectively.

The legislation includes a bill to prohibit racial or ethnic profiling by police agencies (A.2486), which holds police departments accountable, by requiring the collection of data regarding stops and stop-and-frisk incidents. This will make it easier for victims of racial profiling to bring civil suits against police departments.

“This bill eliminates the frequent detaining of law-abiding minorities without cause,” said Wright. “Profiling hurts cooperation between police officers and those who live in communities of color. Profiling breaks down communication weakens trust and prevents law enforcement officers from doing their jobs to protect communities from harm. This bill will help lead to a better relationship between law enforcement officers and minority communities to foster safety and community pride.”

In addition, Wright’s legislation would: curb the abusive use of “no-knock” search warrants (A.6896); authorize the attorney general to investigate and prosecute police misconduct (A.2413); and provide a salary increase for New York City police officers who speak foreign language – helping attract officers to the force who can better communicate with the city’s immigrant population (A.3938).

“Police protects and serves our families and communities,” Wright said. “It is our duty to protect people on both sides of the badge, and that means providing a clear set of guidelines and procedures to ensure that the officers enforcing our laws do so in a fair and just manner.”