Police misconduct: See what State Assemb. Charles D. Lavine thinks

Lavine has responded to Newsday's survey.

Send him a tweet or tell him what you think in the comments.

Background:

Lavine is a member of the Assembly. Working with the State Senate, the Assembly can propose and pass laws that regulate local police departments throughout the state. It could create state oversight of police officers, which currently does not exist, or make internal police investigations public in New York.

Lavine, of Glen Cove, has served in the Assembly since 2005 and is a former staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of the City of New York. He is president of the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Jewish Legislators. He was a member of the Glen Cove City Council in 2003 and 2004 after serving three years on the city planning board.

Questions:

Police officers have remained on the job after shooting innocent people, falsifying police reports, lying under oath and committing other misconduct.

Is there a need for increased oversight of law enforcement?

Yes

A New York law known as 50-a keeps investigations into police misconduct hidden from the public. In many states this is not the case.

Should 50-a be repealed?

New York does not license police officers, and is one of only six states that does not have the power to end an officer’s career.

Should New York police officers be licensed by the state?

His comments:

In relation to question #2 should New York State law 50-a be repealed: New York State law 50-a, makes confidential all personnel records of police officers, firefighters and corrections officers, under the control of the department/agency, that are used to evaluate performance toward continued employment or promotion. Current law does, however, provide for judicial review of requests for access to records; when an authorized judge finds sufficient basis, a court order for release of the information will be issued. There is therefore opportunity in appropriate cases for further review and examination.

In relation to question #3 should New York police officers be licensed by the state: Some 44 states currently have the authority to remove the licenses of unfit police officers; New York is not among them. Having practiced relatively complex criminal law for more than 30 years prior to having been elected, I understand the concerns regarding the increasing number of questionable incidents involving police officers. But before we change the law, we should have additional information; including statistics that provide insight into whether state intervention has had a positive impact; what were the numbers of police removed prior to the state law being enacted and what are the numbers subsequent? New Yorkers ought to know more about the experience of those states with the laws currently in place. While misconduct must not be tolerated, we need to understand the issues and the proposed remedies before we make sweeping changes.