Say It Has Teeth Now
Cop Anti-Corruption Panel Seeks Revival
By REUVEN BLAU

After more than a year of replacing staff and defining authority, the city's little-known Commission to Combat Police Corruption has begun reviewing the NYPD's Investigative Borough Bureau, which examines less-serious allegations of misconduct.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James A WATCHDOG IN MORE THAN NAME: Marnie Blit, the new Executive Director of the Commission to Combat Police Corruption, says it now has the power to investigate 'anything we want to look into, but we have to give the Mayor's Office 24 hours' notice.'

'Can Look Into Anything'

"The issue of the jurisdiction has been settled," said Marnie L. Blit, the Commission's new Executive Director. "We can look into anything we want to look into, but have to give the Mayor's Office 24 hours' notice."

The watchdog agency was created during the Giuliani administration in 1995 and has since released 28 reports, but none since April 2006.

The Commission withered after former Chairman Mark F. Pomerantz stepped down in June 2005, the day after he told the City Council that the Police Department's failure to provide specific data had minimized the panel's effectiveness and delayed its investigations.

JOHN F. DRISCOLL: No need for panel.

That same month, Mayor Bloomberg appointed Michael F. Armstrong as chairman. Mr. Armstrong served as Chief Counsel to the Knapp Commission, which did a groundbreaking probe of police corruption in the early 1970s.

Shortly after his appointment, Julie Block, the Commission's former Executive Director, moved to the Department of Investigation. The panel's two full-time attorneys had previously left.

Replacing those lawyers was a lengthy process, which involved background checks and extensive interviewing as well as a training process, Ms. Blit said. "Those things take time," she added.

The Commission is currently working on its annual report detailing day-to-day activities, including reviewing the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau complaint logs, attending IAB steering committee meetings, and other routine monitoring duties.

Questions Value

The panel has been labeled superfluous, however, by John F. Driscoll, president of the Captains' Endowment Association, who has contended that it merely monitors the IAB, which conducts thorough investigations.

Mr. Driscoll has contended that then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani established the commission as a way to "micromanage" the NYPD. Mayor Bloomberg has a more open management style and allows his commissioners greater autonomy, he added.

"We have a difference of opinion and I don't agree with him," Ms. Blit said.

The Commission's most-famous report, issued in March 2004, found that 20 percent of a sample of the 2003 Police Academy class should have been disqualified due to candidates' prior arrest records.

Mr. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, however, disputed that there were lax hiring procedures as outlined in that review, noting that many of the new recruits had associate's degrees or higher.

Salary Raises Issues

The NYPD, however, is currently struggling mightily to attract and retain new officers because of the since-reduced starting salary of $25,100 for officer during their first six months of training, according to Mr. Kelly.

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association has contended that the department has relaxed many of its hiring requirements to fill vacancies, a charge the NYPD vehemently denies.

It is unclear how aggressive the Commission will be in reviewing the NYPD under the new regulations, which require that all reviews go past City Hall first. "We are going to be very aggressive," Ms. Blit asserted.

When he was first appointed, Mr. Armstrong said he believed that strict guidance under a knowledgeable commissioner such as Mr. Kelly was the antidote for potential corruption.

Has Subpoena Power

As for the dispute with the NYPD over crime stats, Ms. Blit said that Commission officials met with the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Strategic Initiative Michael J. Farrell in May. "It was very informative," she said.

The Commission also has subpoena power via the Department of Investigation, but that option has never been executed.

Some critics of the NYPD have called on the panel to examine the department's crime statistics, which have generally shown a continued decrease. Those critics contend that many of the figures have been fudged by supervisors who are under intense pressure from police brass to reduce crime even further beyond record lows.

The NYPD, however, has maintained that the stats are accurate, pointing to the continued drop in homicides, a figure which cannot be manipulated.

According to Ms. Blit, the NYPD has also been more cooperative recently. "For example, I sent out a letter last week and various borough investigators responded saying, 'Come on down and review the cases,''' she remarked. "Typically it would take months; now we are talking about a week turnaround."

Will Review Trial Room

Asked if she had any theories as to why the NYPD has become more helpful, she responded, "I don't question good things, I just accept them."

Ms. Blit joined the Commission in January 2001 as an Examining Attorney and was promoted to Deputy Executive Director in 2004.

The oversight group is also set to review the department's Trial Room and the Advocate's Office. "When things slow down, we are going to be looking at how the department prevents and detects overtime abuse," Ms. Blit added. "We are really excited about the projects we're going to work on."

The Commission's last three reports included recommended changes to the NYPD's hiring procedures, merit pay for its internal investigators, and slight modifications to the screening process for School Safety Agents and Traffic Enforcement Agents.