Biaggi wants Traffi c Safety Service
Senator says traffi c enforcement should be taken away from the police
BY JASON COHEN
A Bronx lawmaker recently
penned an op-ed sharing her
thoughts on why traffi c enforcements
should be taken out
of the hands of police offi cers.
Senator Alessandra Biaggi
released an Op-Ed. in October,
where she claimed the largest
predictor of police violence is
contact with police.
“Racial bias pervades traffi
c enforcement, enabled by
its largely discretionary nature;
there are more drivers
speeding and violating other
traffi c laws than police have
the capacity to pull over and
ticket, so who are police disproportionately
targeting?
People of color,” Biaggi said in
the op-ed.
The senator told the Bronx
Times when the George Floyd
murder happened, she began
thinking of ways to re-imagine
public safety.
Philando Castile, 32, was
pulled over 46 times in Minneapolis
prior to being shot and
killed by a cop. Of the stops,
only six were things a police
offi cer would notice from outside
a car, such as speeding or
a broken muffl er.
Also, Sandra Bland, 28, was
pulled over for failure to signal
a lane change by a Texas
State Trooper, arrested and
later found dead in her jail
cell by what police claims to
be a suicide.
“My effort towards ending
police violence is really about
the public’s safety,” she said.
Biaggi explained that cops
can search a vehicle at a traffi
c stop if they believe there is
probable cause. However, there
is also “driving while Black,”
which found that Black people
are stopped nearly 40 percent
more than white people.
Last month, Attorney General
Letitia James suggested
removing the NYPD from routine
traffi c stops in order to
reduce police violence.
But the senator wants to
take James’ recommendation
further. She wants to establish
a new, non-police and
non-weaponize Traffi c Safety
Service within the NYS Department
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,14 OCT. 30-NOV. 5, 2020 BTR
of Transportation
dedicated to ensuring traffi c
safety, with anti-racism built
into the unit’s DNA.
“While procedural policies
focusing on training, deescalation,
and heightened
standards for use of force have
value and can reduce police
violence, reforms such as implicit
bias training and body
cameras have shown limited
success,” Biaggi explained.
In September, Data for
Progress conducted a survey
of likely general election voters
in New York about removing
traffi c enforcement from
police jurisdiction and it was
revealed that people back it
by a 24-percentage-point margin
— 54 percent voted in support
while 30 percent oppose
it. Also, in New York City, 70
percent of residents supported
a Traffi c Safety Service, with
just 20 percent opposed to it.
While this policy has never
been implemented in the U.S.,
places like New Zealand have
shown success in enforcing
the policy. For 60 years, the
country maintained a Traffi
c Safety Service that acted
independently of the police.
Studies have shown that it
improved its relations with
law enforcement.
Biaggi stressed to the Bronx
Times that she is examining
different ways to craft a bill and
create a Traffi c Safety Service.
She said one step towards the
Traffi c Safety Service would be
automated enforcement.
The senator also touched on
qualifi ed immunity, which essentially
protects police from
being liable for their actions.
In June, Senator Zellnor Myrie
of Brooklyn introduced a bill
that would eliminate this in
New York for cops.
Biaggi stresses that she
want members of the PBA to
have a seat at the table when
the Traffi c Safety Service
is discussed. Her goal is to
have a bill drafted by the next
legislative session.
“With calls to defund the
police and to fundamentally
improve American policing at
their highest levels, removing
police from traffi c enforcement
would radically reduce police
contact and improve public
safety,” the senator said. “Let’s
lead the way.“
Read stories like this and
more at bxtimes.com.
Senator Alessandra Biaggi wants
to establish a new, non-police and
non-weaponized Traffi c Safety
Service within the NYS Department
of Transportation dedicated to ensuring
traffi c safety
Photo courtesy of Facebook
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