New York County Defender Services

05/19/2022

Unhoused people need access to housing and resources, not to be harassed and traumatized by the NYPD.

We'll never be able to police our way out of homelessness. New York City Council must act now to disband the Strategic Response Group.

New York Civil Liberties Union

05/04/2022

NYCDS is proud to be part of the Treatment Not Jail coalition. NY State over-relies on jails and prisons as the primary treatment providers for people with mental health needs. The TNJ Act expands eligibility for treatment for court-involved individuals and shifts the presumption from incarceration to community support. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day!

04/20/2022

“The only option left is to put Rikers under a federal receiver.”

Our NYCDS director, Stan German, on New York Daily News re NYC Mayor's Office's handling of the Rikers crisis.

“Absent a commitment to expeditiously make the dramatic systemic reforms identified by the Monitor...we will be left with no other option but to seek more aggressive relief, which could involve seeking the appointment of a receiver with independent authority to implement sweeping reforms," pr...

04/08/2022

Last month, NYCDS attorney Rebecca Phipps wrote a a great op-ed on the problematic nature of adding a 'dangerousness' standard to New York State's bail laws.

Read it here:

Mayor Adams’ plan to end gun violence is riddled with harmful misperceptions and misleading statements. It includes yet another denunciation of bail reform, the most popular scapegoat for any perceived criminal-punishment ill facing our city. Adams appears to be capitalizing on the understandable ...