An Act to Remove Barriers to Accountability and Facilitate Robust Oversight

By The Policing Project, NYU School of Law

This model statute gives guidance on how states should proceed to remove some of the barriers to law enforcement officer accountability and oversight commonly found in state or municipal laws (often enacted as provisions of Law of Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (“LEOBORs”)), and collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”).1 The statute also clarifies common procedural protections for officers that states should provide because they further due process, do not impede accountability, and fall in line with the protections afforded to other public employees. Accordingly, in states with LEOBOR or other statutory provisions that this model statute prohibits, legislatures should repeal those provisions. Except where state peace officer standards and training boards (“POST boards”) are expressly invoked in this statute, the provisions of this statute are not intended to apply to state POST boards. The model statute also contains provisions setting forth (a) minimum requirements in law enforcement agency complaint policies and (b) clear rules for governing public access to complaints and related investigatory materials, agency disciplinary matrices, and CBAs

New York: Policing Project, NYU School of Law, 2024. 26p.