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Friday, April 21, 2023
Vol. 72, No. 16
KIDS GUIDE
SCHOOL BOARD RACE SET
3RD DISTRICT LACKS REPRESENTATION
PAGES 23-31
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
Nassau police transparency missing: report
MINEOLA MASTERPIECE
County tied for 2nd-lowest score in national report in info to public BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z A 2022 study from the Vera Institute had Nassau County tied for the second-lowest score for police transparency in the United States with a ranking of 12 out of 100. Nassau County, according to the report from the nonprofit organization aimed at transforming the criminal justice system, scored a 0 in every category except for an 81 in police contact information and a 100 in policies. The areas were judged on their data being “accessible,” “usable,” and “meaningful,” according to the report. “How data is provided should be determined in consultation with community members, especially those impacted by the criminal legal system, to ensure that data is accessible and useful to the people most affected by policing,” Vera Institute officials said in their general recommendations from the report. Efforts to reach officials from the Police Department for comment were unavailing. The Vera Institute, a nonprofit national research organization, analyzed police transparency in 94 cities and counties across the United States. Chicago received the highest score with a 70 and just 21 of the areas scored a 50 or above. The analyzed areas, according to
the report, made up 25% of the entire United States population. The criteria used to measure the overall transparency of police departments was collected by Vera between October 2021 and January 2022, according to the report. Transparency categories used to score the 94 areas were police misconduct complaints, instances of officers shooting firearms, use of force, arrests, 911 calls, traffic and pedestrian stops, training, crime reports, police contact information and policies. The results of the study adds fuel to critics’ call for a civilian oversight board to monitor policing in Nassau. Susan Gottehrer, the director of the Nassau County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told Blank Slate Media that establishing a community oversight board to monitor policing is a matter of “political will,” but is something that should be established by the Legislature. “My concern and I think everyone’s concern is that without any oversight, and in Nassau there is zero oversight, there is only Internal Affairs,” Gottehrer said in a phone interview. Complaints received about the Nassau County Police Department are handled by the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, according to Nassau’s police reform plan. Continued on Page 45
PHOTO COURTESY OF MINEOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT
Jackson Avenue School fourth grader Jillian Powers displays her paper-mache mask made from recycled materials.
State votes to ban Native American mascots BY R OB E RT PE L A E Z
local school districts, according to state officials. The state Department of EduNew York’s Board of Regents unanimously voted to ban the use cation released a memo Nov. 17 of Native American mascots, team informing school districts that do names, logos and depictions Tues- fall under that category to adopt a day, a decision that will affect two resolution to eliminate the names
of all indigenous names, logos and mascots by the end of the 2022-23 school year. Schools in the Manhasset and Sewanhaka school districts sport the “Indians” title for their athletic Continued on Page 46
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