The new commissioner of the New York Police Department [5] (NYPD) William Bratton [6] announced April 16 the disbanding of a surveillance unit used to spy on Muslim communities. The Demographics Unit [7], established in 2003, utilized [8] plainclothes detectives to map communities both inside and outside New York City, tracking the movements and conversations of Muslim individuals. According to the New York Times [9], the unit, composed of around 12 detectives, was created to look for "hot spots" of radicalization that could theoretically provide early warning of possible terrorist activities. Surveillance focused on 28 "ancestries of interest." At a pretrial examination (PDF [10]) before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [11], Commanding Officer of the Intelligence Division Thomas Galati admitted that the program had never generated a lead. The tactics of the unit had drawn significant criticism and generated two federal lawsuits.
From Jurist [12], April 16. Used with permission.
