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December 30, 2021

Buffalo News: "Community leaders, organizations reveal their wish lists for Mayor Brown's fifth term"

By: Deidre Williams | December 30, 2021 As Mayor Byron Brown readies for a fifth term, community leaders and organizations are preparing their own wish lists for what they hope to see him accomplish over the next four years. Concern for tenants tops some of the lists. The mayor needs to give …

December 9, 2021

WKBW: "NYS Association of Chiefs of Police propose changes to state criminal justice laws, cash bail"

By: Natalie Fahmy| December 9, 2021 The New York State Association of Chiefs of Police proposed changes to state criminal justice laws. Their plans include changes to bail, criminal discovery, juvenile justice, and appearance tickets. Deputy Commissioner of Buffalo Police Joseph Gramaglia said …

October 29, 2021

Right To Know Law Takes Effect in Buffalo

On September 17, 2021, the Buffalo City Charter was officially amended to include a new section (Article 13) known as the Right To Know law.  This law gives every motorist in Buffalo the right to a paper document clearly stating the reason for being stopped by the police, and gives every …

October 29, 2021

WKBW: "Who should be in charge of police discipline in Buffalo?"

By: Eileen Buckley | October 29, 2021 Police brutality is taking center stage in a brand new report issued Friday by the Partnership for the Public Good in Buffalo. “Getting rid of those few bad apples would go a long way toward doing that,” remarked Miles Gresham, …

October 29, 2021

WBFO: "Partnership for Public Good: City of Buffalo has more power to discipline police"

By Michael Mroziak | October 29, 2021 The Partnership for the Public Good has released a new policy brief on the City of Buffalo’s police department, and what the PPG says is the city’s untapped power to discipline police officers.

October 18, 2021

Investigative Post: "911 calls down 5%; traffic stops up 48%"

By Geoff Kelly | October 18, 2021 You might imagine Buffalo police spend their shifts busting drug dealers, foiling burglaries and taking guns off the street. There’s some of that, certainly.  But an analysis by Investigative Post of five years of 911 calls shows that sort of policing …

October 6, 2021

Buffalo Common Council Passes Clean Slate Resolution

The Buffalo Common Council approved a resolution on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 in support of the Clean Slate Act (S.1553B/A.6399A), urging the New York State Legislature to end perpetual punishment for millions of New Yorkers with conviction records. Read the full press release below. 

July 14, 2021

Buffalo News: "Citizen panel questions Buffalo police chief on white supremacy in policing"

Deidre Williams |  Jul 14, 2021  Noting a series of alarming incidents around the country, members of a citizens police oversight panel that reports to the Buffalo Common Council on Wednesday questioned Police Commissioner Byron C. Lockwood on the steps being taken …

May 21, 2021

Buffalo News: "Another Voice: 'Clean Slate' law would help the once-incarcerated and their communities"

By: Tanvier Peart and Andrea Ó Súilleabháin | There is no legitimate reason to keep people in limbo when we know that automatic expungement has been proven to work. 

May 11, 2021

Buffalo Advocates Lead Charge During Statewide Town Hall to End Perpetual Punishment & the War on Drugs

On May 10, advocates, organizers, and the directly impacted gathered across the state to call on state legislators to pass three critical bills to end perpetual punishment and the War on Drugs that fuel mass incarceration.

April 4, 2021

Buffalo News: "With repeal of decades-old marijuana laws, police learn new rules to enforce and abide by"

By Maki Becker | April 4, 2021 Just a few hours after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act on Thursday, an email went out to every Buffalo police officer. "Legal update: Repeal of cannabis law," was the title of the memo. The legalization of adult use of …

March 26, 2021

Spectrum News: "Residents, Social Justice Groups Say BPD Reforms Need to Go Further"

March 26, 2021 ​Buffalonians are speaking out against what they’re calling a flawed police reform process. People across the city gave their opinions on Mayor Byron Brown’s recent recommendations to improve the Buffalo Police Department.