Public Safety & Justice Reviewed July 2026
How the CCRB reviews NYPD complaints
New York has an all-civilian board with subpoena power to investigate police misconduct, and a hard ceiling on what it can actually impose, which is the tension at the center of every CCRB debate.
The numbers that matter
- What it is
- An independent, all-civilian board that investigates complaints of police misconduct (NYC Charter § 440, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
- Who sits on it
- Fifteen members of the public, appointed by the Council, mayor, public advocate, and police commissioner (NYC Charter § 440, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
- What it covers
- Excessive force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, and offensive language, plus false official statements made during its cases (NYC Charter § 440, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
- Its limit
- The board investigates and recommends; the police commissioner decides the actual discipline (NYC Charter § 440, 2021 edition, read July 2026)
An all-civilian board, by design
The premise is right there in the name: the people reviewing complaints against police officers are not police. The Charter says why, and then says who.
An independent civilian complaint review board is hereby established as a body comprised solely of members of the public with the authority to investigate allegations of police misconduct as provided in this section.
Solely of members of the public is the whole idea. Even the members with law-enforcement backgrounds sit as civilians on the board, designated by the police commissioner but serving alongside the rest.
The civilian complaint review board shall consist of 15 members of the public.
Fifteen seats, carved up so no single official controls a majority: five named by the Council (one per borough), five by the mayor, one by the public advocate, three law-enforcement-experienced members designated by the police commissioner, and a chair chosen jointly by the mayor and the Council speaker.
The four categories, known as FADO
The board's jurisdiction is not everything an officer might do wrong. It is a specific set of civilian-facing misconduct, known inside the agency by an acronym.
The board shall have the power to receive, investigate, hear, make findings and recommend action upon complaints by members of the public against members of the police department that allege misconduct involving excessive use of force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, or use of offensive language
Force, Abuse of authority, Discourtesy, Offensive language: FADO. A 2019 charter change added a fifth lane, the truthfulness of an officer's statements made during a CCRB case, so lying to the board is itself investigable.
Real teeth, and a real ceiling
The board is not a paper tiger: it can compel testimony and documents. The Charter gives it subpoena power outright.
The board, by majority vote of its members, may compel the attendance of witnesses and require the production of such records and other materials as are necessary for the investigation of matters within its jurisdiction pursuant to this section.
Subpoena power is what separates the CCRB from a suggestion box. It can make witnesses appear and pull records, and it employs its own civilian investigators rather than borrowing them from the NYPD.
But here is the ceiling that shapes every CCRB story you read: the board recommends discipline. It does not impose it. That call stays with the police commissioner, who must explain in writing whenever the penalty imposed departs from what the board recommended.
The CCRB is one piece of how New York polices the line between the state and the public. For a very different enforcement question, how the city limits federal immigration arrests, see how immigration enforcement works in NYC.
The questions New Yorkers actually ask
How do I file a complaint against an NYPD officer?
You can file with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the independent city agency the Charter created for exactly this. The CCRB investigates complaints of excessive force, abuse of authority, discourtesy, and offensive language.
How many members are on the CCRB?
Fifteen, all members of the public. Five are appointed by the City Council (one per borough), five by the mayor, one by the public advocate, and three law-enforcement-experienced members are designated by the police commissioner, with a chair chosen jointly by the mayor and Council speaker.
Can the CCRB discipline or fire a police officer?
No. The board investigates and recommends action, but the police commissioner makes the final disciplinary decision. When the commissioner imposes a different penalty than the board recommended, Section 440 requires a written explanation.
What does FADO stand for?
Force, Abuse of authority, Discourtesy, and Offensive language, the four categories of civilian complaint the CCRB is empowered to investigate under Section 440 of the City Charter.
The documents
The public records this page draws on. Read them yourself:
Now watch the machinery move.
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