Stop and Frisk Never Ended...

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Friend,   New York’s leaders are quick to celebrate the claim that they ended Stop and Frisk. But what if we told you the program never really ceased?   Instead, New York transformed analog pat-downs into digital tracking, building expansive new databases of New Yorkers of color. Claiming to track “gang” activity, police and prosecutors would build expansive tracking databases for children of color who were never even charged with a crime.   But being completely innocent doesn’t protect you from the harms of being falsely labeled a “gang member.” A database entry could mean wrongful arrest, deportation, or worse. And thousands of New Yorkers don’t even know they’ve been wrongfully labeled as “gang members.” This database is immoral and illegal, and that’s why we were proud to join with the Brennan Center for Justice and a coalition of advocates to demand an external investigation of the NYPD database. These sorts of investigations have helped shut down databases in other cities, and we hope this report will be the first step in dismantling the NYPD’s blanket surveillance of communities of color.   With thanks, Albert Fox Cahn, Esq. Executive Director Listen To Our Podcast! Our Team Share Tweet Forward