Erase the NYPD's 'Gang' Database

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Earlier this week, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a long-awaited report on the abuses of the NYPD’s so-called “gang database.” For over two years, we’ve joined the G.A.N.G.S. Coalition in demanding the OIG investigate this racist database, with 99% of the New Yorkers included being Black or Latinx, many of them children. Things as simple as the color of a person’s shirt and whether they live in NYCHA public housing could easily land them in this database, with information taken straight from social media accounts.

The report found NYPD uses unclear and unenforced procedures for entering New Yorkers in the database, often violating the minimal protocol they do have in place. Not only does NYPD not notify people when they are added, but there is also no clear way for people to determine if they are included in the database.

While we welcome this report, we strongly condemn the OIG’s statement that there was no verifiable evidence of harm coming from the database. It’s abundantly obvious that racist digital stop-and-frisk is the only clear process NYPD uses in managing it. There is no fixing the gang database and the City Council must abolish it once and for all.

In solidarity,
Nina Loshkajian
Legal Fellow

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Newslettercommunications staffApril 21, 2023