NYPD shuts down Muslim spying unit

The New York Police Department announced today that it has shuttered down the controversial initiative. TIME said that the surveillance program known by its official name Demographics Unit, was created in 2003 to eavesdrop on conversations to monitor the minority's activities in the state. The program was part of the NYPD's post-9/11 intelligence policies. The New York Times said that the shutdown of such unit also signals that the police department under the administration of new commissioner William Bratton is looking to reevaluate their policies.

Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York had told the Times about the Muslim spying unit, "The Demographics Unit created psychological warfare in our community. 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."

Aside from the widespread criticism the NYPD received about the Muslim spying unit, the intelligence tactics of the NYPD are the subject of of two federal lawsuits, the Times said. A senior official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation was quoted to have said that the Demographics Unit harmed national security by sowing the Muslims' mistrust for law enforcement.

The NYPD earlier admitted that the surveillance initiative did not generate any useful leads that would have made the public money and the effort into the Demographics Unit worthwhile, TIME said. The Times added that the surveillance initiative entails the police mapping communities inside and outside the city and logging in where Muslims in their traditional attire eat their meals and their conversations.

NYPD chief spokesman Stephen Davis said, "Understanding certain local demographics can be a useful factor when assessing the threat information that comes into New York City virtually on a daily basis. In the future, we will gather that information, if necessary, through direct contact between the police precincts and the representatives of the communities they serve."

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Demographics Unit, New York Police Department, surveillance initiative

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