Reports
(Click on the report's title to download the document. Documents
are in PDF Format.)
This July 2009 report by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP)and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) includes information about 273 cities nationwide that target the homeless with laws making it illegal to sleep, eat or sit in public spaces. It also ranks the top 10 U.S. cities with the worst practices.
For information on the NLCHP click here
For information on the NCH click here
This June 2009 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) decribes how the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), passed by Congress in 1996, denies equal access to the courts to the more than 2.3 mio. incarcerated persons in the US, including children in prisons and youth detention facilities, and makes recommendations how to amend the legislation.
To learn more about Human Rights Watch click here
This June 2009 paper by the Center for American Progress is directed at advocates, policymakers and legislators and argues that the international human rights framework provides a powerful instrument in advancing domestic social justice.
For information on the Center for American Progress click here
This
December 2007 report was prepared for the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the occasion of its review of the United States of America’s Second and Third Periodic Report to the Committee. The report, endorsed by many organizations and individuals including the NPAP, addresses the U.S. government’s failure to comply with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to prevent and punish acts of excessive force, rape sexual abuse, and racial profiling committed by law enforcement officers against people of color. The report examines why existing police training programs are ineffective and current legislative and judicial remedies are failing to afford victims of racially discriminatory law enforcement practices vindication of their human rights, financial compensation, or systemic change. It concludes by offering concrete recommendations to bring the U.S. into compliance with the Convention.
To read appendices to the report click here
To read the Supplementary Torture Report of 10/29/08 click here
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Enhancing Civilian Participation in the Review of Complaints and Use of Force in the Boston Police Department
This report was prepared in 2005 by Northeastern University’s Institute on Race and Justice in partnership with the Boston Police Department (BPD) to enhance integrity within the BPD. The researchers conducted a historical analysis of civilian review and identified best practices in civilian review across the country. In addition to reviewing best practices nationally, the researchers analyzed the complaint and use of force investigation and review processes that were in place at the time in Boston and made recommendations to improve these processes and introduce external civilian oversight.
Unfortunately, the Community Ombudsman Oversight Panel (COOP) that was established in 2007 by executive order of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino falls short of the recommendations made by the report. A coalition of civil rights and community organizations, among them the NPAP, is currently working on improving civilian oversight in Boston.
To visit the website of the COOP click here
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