Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced last week that new municipal IDs, IDNYC, will be a valid and recognized form of government-issued identification during interactions with the Police Department.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Police Department Commissioner William Bratton, and Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal last week announced a notable update to the NYPD Patrol Guide – the upcoming municipal identification card, IDNYC, will be a valid and recognized form of government-issued identification.
This important step will help prevent the arrests of New Yorkers previously unable to provide proof of their identity during interactions with the Police Department – including many immigrant, young adult, and transgender residents. IDNYC cards with names and home addresses will also be recognized as a form of identification in the issuance of summonses, desk appearance tickets, and property claims. This will allow police officers to issue summonses for low-level violations, rather than make arrests. Officers will thus be enabled to focus their attention on more serious crimes.
“It’s critical for all New Yorkers who come into contact with the Police Department, including those who are undocumented, to be able to identify themselves and do it in an atmosphere of safety,” said Mayor de Blasio. “This is going to play a crucial role in both preventing unnecessary arrests of New Yorkers who were previously unable to show identification and in deepening the relationship between police and community.”
The NYPD’s Patrol Guide will be modified to include the IDNYC card in the list of acceptable forms of identification, along with New York State Driver and Non-Driver Identification, New York State Driver’s Permit, and other government photo identification. The Police Department played a significant role in the development of the IDNYC program, including advising on fraud prevention protocols and technology used to build the program. The IDNYC program and the NYPD jointly developed a comprehensive strategy for educating police officers on the IDNYC program, and the NYPD is issuing an Operations Order to advise all officers of the new policy changes.
By Forum Staff
