{"id":1984,"date":"2020-06-16T13:36:15","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T13:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/?p=1984"},"modified":"2020-06-16T13:36:15","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T13:36:15","slug":"city-council-plans-vote-on-post-act-creating-civilian-oversight-of-police-surveillance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/press\/2020\/06\/16\/1984\/","title":{"rendered":"City Council Plans Vote on POST Act, Creating Civilian Oversight of Police Surveillance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bill requires NYPD to disclose\u00a0its\u00a0use of\u00a0surveillance technology\u00a0and develop impact and use policies<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York, NY<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Member Vanessa Gibson, Chair of the Subcommittee on Capital Budget,\u00a0today announced that the City Council will\u00a0vote\u00a0on the\u00a0Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST)\u00a0Act\u00a0on June 18. The bill, Intro.\u00a0487, requires\u00a0the NYPD to\u00a0publicly disclose information on its\u00a0surveillance technology tools\u00a0and\u00a0to develop policies on how it uses those tools.\u00a0The bill would also require annual oversight of the NYPD\u2019s use of surveillance technology to ensure compliance with those policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The legislation, which was heard by the Council\u2019s Committee on Public Safety,\u00a0was crafted with feedback from\u00a0civil rights\u00a0and civil liberties groups concerned over the lack of oversight of the\u00a0NYPD\u2019s\u00a0use of surveillance tools on the public. The NYPD has access to\u00a0cell site simulators to capture\u00a0cell phone information, facial recognition technology, license plate readers\u00a0and X-ray vans,\u00a0but there has been little public information on\u00a0the\u00a0capabilities of\u00a0these tools\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0how the NYPD\u2019s uses\u00a0the private information\u00a0they collect.\u00a0In addition, the public has no way of knowing what other surveillance tools the NYPD uses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0June 18th<\/sup>\u00a0Stated also includes other police reform bills, including one that makes it a crime for police to use chokeholds, one that requires the NYPD to use a disciplinary matrix, and a third that makes it illegal for officers to hide their badge numbers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers deserve to know the type of surveillance that\u00a0the\u00a0NYPD uses and its impacts\u00a0on communities.\u00a0Thanks to the POST Act, the\u00a0department\u00a0will\u00a0finally begin disclosing information\u00a0that has long\u00a0been\u00a0kept\u00a0from the public. I want to thank my friend and colleague Council Member Vanessa Gibson for her leadership and commitment\u00a0on\u00a0this police reform bill,\u201d\u00a0said Council Speaker Corey Johnson<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0Speaker’s\u00a0decision to move forward with a vote on the POST Act at our next Stated meeting is a tremendous win for us and all of the amazing advocates that have worked tirelessly to push this bill forward. New York City will join several cities across the country that require their police department to disclose their use of surveillance technology to ensure oversight and transparency. Residents are demanding more from law enforcement and their elected officials to protect the civil rights of all New Yorkers, specifically Black and Brown communities, and I believe this bill is a step in the right direction towards ensuring accountability. I want to thank the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project,\u00a0the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), New York Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Legal Aid Society for all of their hard work and Speaker Corey Johnson for recognizing the importance of passing this legislation,\u201d\u00a0said Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson, Chair of the Subcommittee on Capital Budget<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2020, technology is developing faster than ever before and we need to be able to adapt just as quickly to ensure that there are regulations and safeguards to protect our civil liberties.\u00a0I am proud to pass the POST Act knowing that while Big Brother is watching us, we are watching Big Brother,\u201d\u00a0said Council Member Donovan Richards, Chair of the Committee on Public Safety<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re grateful to Vanessa Gibson for sponsoring this vital legislation and to the overwhelming majority of City Council Members who stand with us in fighting for NYPD reform. Today, NYPD surveillance often is no better than digitized stop-and-frisk. These programs are biased, broken, and deeply damaging to a democratic society. At a time when more than a dozen cities have enacted surveillance reforms that are far stronger than the POST Act, the NYPD can\u2019t give one good reason to oppose this modest transparency reform,\u201d\u00a0said Surveillance Technology\u00a0Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The bill requires NYPD to disclose\u00a0its\u00a0use of\u00a0surveillance technology\u00a0and develop impact and use policies<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York, NY<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Member Vanessa Gibson, Chair of the Subcommittee on Capital Budget,\u00a0today announced that the City Council will\u00a0vote\u00a0on the\u00a0Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST)\u00a0Act\u00a0on June 18.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

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