20^th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference
August 18-20, 2021 | Held Virtually

This panel highlights policing reforms adopted over the last year and what still needs to be done.

NACDL's 19th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference
August 17-19, 2020 | Held Virtually
Policing in America: Policing the Police

Defenders start from the proposition that something went wrong with the police case.

But how do things go wrong?

Defense attorneys often point to “one big screw-up” or “one twisted cop” in telling the story of a client’s innocence to a jury. In reality, the best explanation of how things go wrong is usually an “organizational accident” – a lot of small errors that alone would not be enough to cause something to go wrong, but when put together can cause catastrophe.

Known data projects by government, non-profit, and community organizations that publicly post data, preferably with making individual data points available. 

Join NACDL’s Full Disclosure Project to hear about our new resources for tracking law enforcement misconduct. We've compiled our best practices for beginning or improving your processes of tracking police misconduct data. We’ll cover hidden places to look for data, how to create a feasible collection plan, and effective systems for organizing your data. We’ll show approaches from the advanced and involved to the low-tech and simple - so you can apply these methods with whatever resources you have.

The Full Disclosure Project aims to disrupt the culture of secrecy that systematically and pervasively shields law enforcement misconduct by changing police secrecy laws and empowering the defense community to track police misconduct.

NACDL supports improved transparency around police disciplinary records in New Jersey.

NACDL worked with state partners to successfully advocate for public access to law enforcement disciplinary records.

Express your interest in the Full Disclosure Project. There’s no commitment and there are no right or wrong answers. As capacity allows we will follow up to schedule a demo, assess the suitability of your organization, and invite you to apply to participate in our Full Disclosure Project. Decisions will be made based upon the information you provide.

On the Second Anniversary of George Floyd’s Murder, Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Calls for Renewed Focus on Reform – Washington, DC (May 25, 2022) – Two years ago, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, shocking the nation and setting off a renewed wave of calls for reform of police use of force against people of color.

The Long Shadow of the Trial Penalty

Thanks to the trial penalty, criminal trials no longer offer sufficient opportunities for the community to evaluate the conduct of the police during citizen-officer encounters. Police and prosecutors can effectively coerce guilty pleas thereby obscuring, even deliberately shielding, unlawful police conduct from public exposure and review by the courts.

Whatever Happened to Willie Horton? Edward A. Mallett October 2000 7 When George W.'s father beat Michael Dukakis in 1988 he got great mileage out of the proposition that a violent crime by a Massachusetts parolee demonstrated the Democratic Party's incompetence. His anti-crime demagoguery connected

NACDL Full Disclosure Project's response to the Request for Information and recommendations to the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) regarding the National Decertification Index Expansion Project and the need to address and present law enforcement misconduct data transparently.

NACDL's statement to the Presidential Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice regarding the need for more accountability and transparency in policing to effect meaningful, much-needed reforms.

Letter to New Jersey legislative leadership regarding a proposed bill to require that law enforcement disciplinary records are government record and available to the public (S2656, 2020).