Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the New York Police Department tightens its safeguards against illegal surveillance. The illegal surveillance was said to have targeted Muslims unfairly. The largest police force in the nation then agreed to increase regulation of its counterterrorism programs as part of a settlement of two civil cases.
On Thursday, lawyers said that the surveillance of Muslims in secret investigations of terror threats was illegal. The NYPD then said that it shall install a representative, not from the department, as an advisory committee which will review the probes under the terms of a settlement of two high-profile civil rights lawsuits.
The agreement came after months of negotiations. The goal of the negotiation is to end litigation over accusations that NYPD had cast a shadow over Muslim civilians with a covert campaign of religious profiling and illegal spying.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the government is committed to strengthen the relationship between communities of faith and the administration so that residents of every background feel protected and respected. According to reports, the NYPD infiltrated Muslim student groups and have placed informants in mosques.
New York City and the NYPD said they will not pay any damages other than the $1.6 million for the plaintiff's legal fees. The police department also agreed to classify civil rights and other protections required under the court-ordered Handschu decree. The decree was put in place in response to surveilance used against war protesters during the 60's and the 70's. It was known that Hanschu decree was temporarily shut down after the 9/11 attacks. This allowed police and other officials in the government to freely monitor political activity in public places.
Back in 2013, civil rights advocates filed a lawsuit against NYPD. The advocates accused NYPD of breaking Handschu rules. After a year, a second suit was filed in Brooklyn Federal Court by a charity, mosques, and community leaders alleged that the police department was utterly discriminating Muslims
Hamid Hassan Raza, an imam claimed that the New York Police Department practice of installing informants and spies had spread suspicion and fear at his Mosque. The settlement was said to be important not only for New York Muslim community but also for other minorities in other federal states.
Center for Constitutional Rights said that the settlement is important in light of escalating hate crimes and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States of America. The group is hoping that Mayor de Blasio will be more vocal about why the NYPD made a mistake in engaging in religious profiling of the Muslim community.
