NYPD Nixes Muslim Spy Unit
Nolan Feeney @NolanFeeney 7:49 PM ET
The surveillance program, created in 2003 to collect detailed information about the activities of Muslim communities, attracted widespread criticism as well as lawsuits. It also never produced any leads
The New York Police Department has shuttered a program designed to spy on Muslim communities, the department announced on Tuesday.
The surveillance initiative, which began in 2003 and was once known as the Demographics Unit, sent detectives into neighborhoods with Muslim populations to eavesdrop on conversations and record detailed information about where and how Muslims spent their time. The decision to end the program signifies a reevaluation of the department’s post-9/11 intelligence policies by new commissioner William J. Bratton, the New York Times reports.
The department’s activities attracted both criticism from the FBI and civil rights organizations as well as multiple federal lawsuits.
“The Demographics Unit created psychological warfare in our community,” Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York told the Times. “Those documents, they showed where we live. That’s the cafe where I eat. That’s where I pray. That’s where I buy my groceries. They were able to see their entire lives on those maps. And it completely messed with the psyche of the community.”
The NYPD has admitted that its tactics never generated a lead about possible terrorist activity.
[NY Times]
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| Anti-war demonstration organized by UNAC in April 2011 in New York City. |
The surveillance program, created in 2003 to collect detailed information about the activities of Muslim communities, attracted widespread criticism as well as lawsuits. It also never produced any leads
The New York Police Department has shuttered a program designed to spy on Muslim communities, the department announced on Tuesday.
The surveillance initiative, which began in 2003 and was once known as the Demographics Unit, sent detectives into neighborhoods with Muslim populations to eavesdrop on conversations and record detailed information about where and how Muslims spent their time. The decision to end the program signifies a reevaluation of the department’s post-9/11 intelligence policies by new commissioner William J. Bratton, the New York Times reports.
The department’s activities attracted both criticism from the FBI and civil rights organizations as well as multiple federal lawsuits.
“The Demographics Unit created psychological warfare in our community,” Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York told the Times. “Those documents, they showed where we live. That’s the cafe where I eat. That’s where I pray. That’s where I buy my groceries. They were able to see their entire lives on those maps. And it completely messed with the psyche of the community.”
The NYPD has admitted that its tactics never generated a lead about possible terrorist activity.
[NY Times]
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