Nassau/Suffolk Law Services created the Illegal Evictions and How to Stop Them project to prevent law enforcement from turning a blind eye to illegal evictions due to the misconception by police that illegal evictions are solely a civil matter. Nassau/Suffolk Law Services developed a pamphlet directed specifically to the police, which outlined the criminal laws violated by an illegal eviction. Copies of these laws were attached to the pamphlet. Tenants, anticipating trouble, were given the pamphlet, told to keep it with them at all times, and directed to hand them directly to the officers who arrived on the scene. Within one year of our leaflet campaign, Order Number 88-19 of the Suffolk County Police Department [procedures for responding to illegal evictions] was born and remains in effect today. To view an electronic copy of the leaflet, visit: http://www.nslawservices.org/eviction1.shtml.
Contact Information:
Candace Scott Appleton Senior Staff Attorney 1 Helen Keller Way, 5th Floor Hempstead, NY 11550 Phone: (516) 292-8100 x 3108 Fax: (516) 292-6529 cappleton@wnylc.com
LSC:
America's Partner for Equal Justice 
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