The letter argues that the NYPD’s reliance on data collected using vague, unaccountable, and subjective standards makes it inherently unreliable, and calls into question its use as an investigative tool. Inclusion in the gang database, which requires no proof of criminal activity, can impact a person’s equal access to housing, schooling, recreation, naturalization, and more.
Statement
Coalition Letter Calls on the NYPD Inspector General to Audit the NYPD “Gang Database”
On September 22, a coalition of organizations and academics sent a letter to the NYPD Inspector General’s office raising a number of civil rights and civil liberties concerns and urging an audit of the NYPD gang database.
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