Friend,
Over the past couple of weeks, S.T.O.P. has released two exciting research reports detailing the harms of mass surveillance. We first shared Seeing is Misbelieving: How Surveillance Technology Distorts Crime Statistics, followed by Genetic Surveillance: The NYPD’s Rogue DNA Database. The papers explore different topics but uncover the same pattern of deception, malpractice and incompetence by the NYPD.
Seeing is Misbelieving details NYPD’s manipulation of crime data and its effects on law enforcement policy in New York City. Driven by selective over-policing of certain offenses and of BIPOC communities, historic crime data informs the placement and output of surveillance technologies. In turn, surveillance tech perpetuates racist policing, skewing the crime statistics that shape public policy narratives surrounding policing. The report highlights safeguards that every locality can implement to regain control over public safety data.
Genetic Surveillance reveals how the NYPD illegally maintains its independent DNA database. The database is populated through continued violations of New York State DNA privacy protections, resulting in a perpetual lineup of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, most of whom were never convicted of a crime but are now potential suspects anytime a DNA test is run. With DNA contamination, laboratory mix-ups, and the use of experimental lab techniques, each scan invites wrongful arrest or conviction. Genetic Surveillance calls for an immediate end to NYPD’s rogue and illegal DNA database.
As we continue expanding our research, we keep reaching the same conclusion: NYPD must stop its mass surveillance. Seeing is Misbelieving shows it’s completely misguided. And Genetic Surveillance shows it can even be completely illegal.
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