An innovative national program to help fight crime in American cities and towns will be unveiled Monday, July 13th at the NAACP Centennial Convention in New York City.
The initiative includes a bold new online effort, the NAACP Rapid Report System (RRS), a quick, effective way for citizens to report instances of police misconduct, and to help public safety officials move beyond the “tough on crime” policies that have lost their effectiveness.
The Rapid Report System will be available starting July 6, through the NAACP website (www.naacp.org). The user-friendly online RRS form will allow residents to send instant texts, emails, or video reports of police abuse to the association via cell phone.Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, said the initiative is part of a wider Criminal Justice strategy called “Smart and Safe,” that the NAACP will be launching during its Centennial Year.
“Nationwide, more than 26,000 citizen complaints of police officer use of force were filed with state and local law enforcement agencies in 2002. However, because many incidents are not reported, this number does not capture the full magnitude of the problem,” Jealous said.
“Research has shown that there are many barriers to reporting incidents of police misconduct, including intimidation at police departments and a lack of trust in the integrity of the system, among other reasons. This breakdown leads to an absence of public safety and a deterioration of the quality of life in many communities of color. But public safety is a civil and a human right; and so we want a more accurate count of these incidents,” Jealous said.
“We know that most of police officers around the nation are excellent public servants. But the few who violate people’s rights are often not held accountable. We hope to improve the relationship between our community and law enforcement officers — which is the best way to create the trust needed for police to effectively solve crimes,” Jealous said.
The Rapid Report System will be demonstrated for attendees at the NAACP Centennial Convention July 11-16th at the New York Hilton. More information on the full Convention schedule is available at www.naacp.org.
It doesn’t seem like the information is being made openly available as yet, which I would see as the most valuable part of the service. Still, this is a great move from the NAACP, which has done some great work in the past but has been caught up in knee-jerk statism for too long. Let’s hope the organization wakes up to the fact that government is always the enemy of repressed minorities.
Brad Taylor is a graduate student in Political Science at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. He blogs at 
Do you have to be “colored” to use it?
I can use this because I’m colored.
Of course I’d call it “bisque” or perhaps “blanched almond”.
Reminds me of an old joke from when I was a kid:
A black guy and a white guy are sitting on the porch, talking. The black guy says to the white guy, “I don’t get it. When you get cold, you turn blue. When you go out in the sun, you turn red. When you get sick, you turn green. When you get angry, you turn purple. Now me, when I get cold, I’m black. When I go out in the sun, I’m black. When I get sick, I’m black. When I get angry, I’m black. And you have the nerve to call ME colored?”
Who exactly can use this?
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