Latest News

February 15, 2019

Spectrum News: "Buffalo To Stop Enforcement of Most Marijuana Offenses"

"It's not making our community safer, it's an extra strain of the resources of the police and of the corrections department, and what we should really be focusing on is building healthier and safer communities," O'Suilleabhain said. O'Suilleabhain published a report on marijuana arrests …

November 30, 2018

Buffalo News: “Community policing project takes hold on East Side and in Police Department”

“There are other ways to look at whether community policing is having an effect, ‘although some initiatives may take time before they bear fruit,’ said Sam Magavern, executive director of the Partnership for the Public Good. They include looking at the number of officers …

November 5, 2018

Buffalo Law Journal News: "Report prompts Erie County attorneys to push for bail reform"

"Backed by the findings of a report on how judges in Erie County issue bail, attorneys and a local legislator are pushing for change. “It’s in everybody’s best interest to reduce the incarcerated population as much as we can,” said Kevin Stadelmaier, chief attorney at …

July 23, 2018

Press Statement: Directly impacted communities, grassroots organizations & the #FREEnewyork campaign call on the Erie County Legislature and New York State to end the jail crisis

On July 19, 2018 the New York State Commission of Correction’s Medical Review Board found that India Cumming’s death in the Erie County Holding Center “should be ruled as a homicide due to medical neglect” in a report issued on June 26 and made public by the Buffalo News on …

July 23, 2018

WBFO News: “Bail taking a toll on low-income families”

In New York State there’s a daily average of 25,000 people in jails. In Erie County there’s about 1,200 and about two-thirds are being detained pretrial because they can’t post bail. The Partnership for the Public good examined the issue. They recently sat in on more than 200 City …

May 7, 2018

Advocates call for Buffalo police to tighten body-worn camera policy

By Aaron Besecker | Published Sun, May 6, 2018 As the Buffalo Police Department gets closer to equipping officers with body-worn cameras, a local advocacy group and think tank has urged the department to engage the community before finalizing its internal policy surrounding body-camera use.

April 27, 2018

Advocates call for bail reform after report shows cash bail used in more than half of cases

Published on WIVB.com4 By: Ali Ingersoll Updated: Apr 26, 2018 06:22 PM EDT

April 27, 2018

Group calls for end of cash bail in some cases; DA Flynn is listening

By Maki Becker | Published in The Buffalo News, April 26, 2018 | Updated April 26, 2018 Judges impose money bail too often in Buffalo and the use of cash bail unfairly affects poor defendants who end up spending more time in jail simply they cannot afford to pay up, according to a new study by the …

March 9, 2018

New Advisory Body Will Bring Community Recommendations on Police Oversight

Following advocacy by the Open Buffalo Justice and Opportunity Coalition and Partnership for the Public Good, the Buffalo Common Council has created a Community Advisory Body on Police Oversight, as reported in the Buffalo News this week.

February 9, 2018

PPG and Open Buffalo Welcome Disbandment of Strike Force, Call for Additional Reforms

We recognize the disbanding of the Strike Force as a major reform. We renew our call for three additional reforms critical to better policing in the City of Buffalo: expanded and mandatory community policing, disbanding of the housing unit, and an end to arrests for marijuana possession.

February 9, 2018

"Buffalo police disbanding troubled Strike Force" published by Investigative Post

“They were started to be tough on crime and we know that’s coded language for policing black and brown neighborhoods,” said Natasha Soto, a co-founder of Just Resisting, a racial and criminal justice group that promotes the empowerment of people of color.

January 25, 2018

New Little Sis Article: "Buffalo Police Commissioner hired by security firm with a checkered history and a City Hall contract"

"A 2016 survey by the Partnership for the Public Good found that only 44% of black respondents in Buffalo reported that they would trust the police in an emergency."