S.T.O.P. Testifies At NY City Council For DNA Oversight Hearing, Calls For Reforms

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Testifies at NY City Council for DNA Oversight Hearing, Calls For Reforms   (NEW YORK, NY, 2/25/2020) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, testified at a New York City Council hearing on the NYPD’s local DNA surveillance, calling for further reforms. S.T.O.P. called for passage of New York Senate Bill S6009, which would outlaw the NYPD’s local DNA database, and the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (P.O.S.T.) Act, which requires the NYPD to disclose all of its surveillance systems.   SEE: S.T.O.P. Testimony on NYPD DNA Surveillance Oversight https://www.stopspying.org/s/2020-02-25-Albert-Cahn-DNA-Oversight-Testimony-Final.pdf   Text of NY Senate Bill S6009 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s6009   Overview of the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (P.O.S.T.) Act https://www.stopspying.org/post-act   “We commend the City Council for casting much needed sunlight on the NYPD’s murky DNA surveillance,” said STOP Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “The NYPD’s recent reforms are too little too late. Under the NYPD’s policies, innocent New Yorkers are having their DNA held for years, simply because the NYPD can. Lawmakers must also act to end the NYPD’s DNA dragnets, which routinely target New Yorkers of color, and even children, robbing them of their genetic privacy. Today’s hearing shows that the NYPD’s unaccountable DNA tracking operates outside the law, without any authorization under state or local law. These reckless practices will lead to more false arrests and more wrongful convictions.”   The NYPD announced reforms to their DNA surveillance in the days leading up to the hearing, including changes to the DNA consent form and a review process for DNA samples that had been held for 2 years. However, none of these reforms changed the NYPD’s most controversial practices, including race-based DNA dragnets and coercing minors to provide DNA samples via discarded sodas, water bottles, and cigarette butts.   SEE: N.Y.P.D. to Remove DNA Profiles of Non-Criminals From Database https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/nyregion/dna-nypd-database.html   NYPD detectives demanded DNA swabs from hundreds of black and Latino men while hunting killer of Howard Beach jogger https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-men-caught-up-in-nypd-jogger-dna-dragnet-object-to-the-tactic-20190510-h4i4q7p4wzhtbpmjmdilvxsc5u-story.html    How Juveniles Get Caught Up In The NYPD's Vast DNA Dragnet http://gothamist.com/2019/01/10/dna_nypd_judge.php   Last year, the civil rights groups welcomed a New York State appeals court decision allowing teenagers to expunge records in the state’s DNA index system. The decision by the First Appellate Department applies to individuals given “youthful offender status”, a lesser criminal disposition for certain defendants between 16 and 19 years of age.   The defendant gave a DNA sample after allegedly signing a consent form, though he later contested whether he had voluntarily consented to the test. After receiving a youthful offender disposition, the plaintiff sued to expunge his record.  New York law requires courts to seal the records of youthful offenders, but it doesn’t explicitly address DNA information. A trial court had previously denied the plaintiff’s request to expunge his DNA information, but the appellate division reversed the earlier ruling, allowing expungement.   SEE: S.T.O.P. Welcomes NY Court Ruling Allowing Teen Defendants To Expunge DNA Record https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2019/5/28/stop-welcomes-ny-court-ruling-allowing-teen-defendants-to-expunge-dna-record   Decision – Figueroa v. Fabrizio http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2019/2019_04120.htm The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider hosted by the Urban Justice Center. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   - END – CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn;