Audit Report On The Adherence Of New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board To Executive Order 120 Concerning Limited English Proficiency
AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF
We performed an audit of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board’s (CCRB) compliance with Executive Order 120 (EO 120). CCRB is an independent and non-police mayoral agency. It is empowered to receive, investigate, hear, make findings and recommend action on complaints against New York City police officers which allege the use of excessive or unnecessary force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, or the use of offensive language. Investigations are conducted by the board’s investigative staff, which is composed entirely of civilian employees. Complaints may be made by any person whether or not that person is a victim of, or witness to, an incident. Dispositions by the board on complaints are forwarded to the police commissioner. As determined by the board, dispositions may be accompanied by recommendations regarding disciplinary measures.
EO 120 requires city agencies that provide direct public services to develop and implement language access policy and implementation plans to accommodate Limited English Proficiency (LEP) persons. Agencies were required to have their plan in place by January 1st, 2009. In implementing a program of language assistance, EO 120 requires that each agency designate a Language Access Coordinator to oversee the creation and execution of the agency’s language access policy and implementation plan; conduct a population needs assessment utilizing guidelines from the U.S. Department of Justice; train front line staff; establish an appropriate monitoring and measurement system; and provide free language assistance based on at least the top six LEP languages 1 spoken in the City (as determined by the NYC Department of City Planning), including the identification and translation of essential public documents, telephonic and on-site interpretation services, and posting of signage notifying the public of their rights to access these services free of cost.
Our fieldwork was conducted from July 2010 to August 2010, a year and a half after the deadline by which agencies’ were required to have completed their language access policy and implementation plans (see Compliance Chart in Appendices I and II of the Audit Report). As the Executive Order calls for the Mayor’s Offices of Operations (Operations) and Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) to play a leadership role overseeing agencies’ language access initiatives, and to provide technical assistance and promote access to LEP customers through public outreach in its statute, we also included a review of the Mayor’s Office’s oversight efforts in our audit scope.
Audit Findings and Conclusions
CCRB was generally in compliance with EO 120 where it is mandated to ensure meaningful access of agency resources to LEP persons. CCRB is in the process of implementing a program for language assistance that reflects the principles of plain language communication. However, there are a few areas where CCRB was partially in compliance with EO 120 and its efforts should be enhanced to provide better services to LEP persons.2 We found that CCRB did not: develop its Language Access Policy and Implementation Plan timely; identify and provide for the translation of essential public documents; and provide frontline workers formal LEP training. In addition, the monitoring and measurement of language access services and public outreach endeavors can be strengthened.
Audit Recommendations
This report makes a total of 9 recommendations. To address the issues we found during this audit, the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board should:
- Adhere to the timeline as it appears in their current Language Access Policy and Implementation Plan.
- Identify and translate essential public documents to accommodate LEP customers in all essential languages.
- Translate its website in at least the top six languages and revise its information brochure to include information on language services available to LEP persons.
- Develop a formal training program for its frontline workers, interpreters and translators instructing them in the procedures in handling limited English proficient persons.
- Adhere to its goals of incorporating into the complaint tracking system (CTS) an indicator of LEP complainants, and developing and implementing means for evaluating the quality of the services it provides to LEP individuals.
- Ensure that community groups, organizations, and neighborhoods that serve LEP individuals are made aware of the agency’s provision of language services available to LEP persons.
To address other issues we found during this audit, the Mayor’s Office of Operations should revise EO 120 to include:
- A list of consequences an agency would face if its milestones for plan deadlines are not met.
- Requiring agencies to produce Annual Reports that contain details of what agencies have already done.
- What agencies plan to do in the future to meet or enhance their LEP
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1 The designated top six LEP languages spoken by the population in New York City are: Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Italian, and Haitian Creole.
2 It should be noted that while not initially identified as one of the original public-facing city agencies, CCRB has recently formalized its language access efforts by developing a Language Access & Implementation Plan and will utilize language access resources coordinated by the Mayor’s Office (such as Language Access Coordinator Quarterly Meetings) in an effort to comply with EO 120.