The campaign of Mamdani did not provide a response to inquiries for comment regarding recent developments.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) significantly expanded its mass surveillance programs under Commissioner Raymond Kelly following the September 11 attacks, supported by substantial federal anti-terrorism funding. However, Ferguson highlights that former commissioner William Bratton played a pivotal role in establishing the NYPD’s dependence on data analytics through the introduction of the CompStat system in the mid-1990s. This initiative, later reinstated during Bratton’s return to the department in 2014 under Mayor Bill de Blasio, set a framework for the electronic aggregation and analysis of crime data. Bratton has also served as a mentor to Jessica Tisch, who has received his praise since departing from the NYPD.
Tisch was instrumental in developing the NYPD’s Domain Awareness System (DAS), a vast surveillance infrastructure valued at $3 billion. This network comprises tens of thousands of surveillance cameras, license plate readers, gunshot detection sensors, social media monitoring tools, biometric data collection, cryptocurrency tracking, location analysis, and livestreaming from body-worn and dash cameras, collectively covering the expansive 468-square-mile area of New York City’s five boroughs. Modeled after London’s 1990s CCTV system, originally conceived as an anti-terror effort for Lower and Midtown Manhattan, the system has since transitioned to commercial promotion among various police departments. Recently, the administration of Eric Adams facilitated connections between dozens of public housing cameras in New York City to this system, further expanding its reach, with additional enhancements anticipated.
Despite being operational for over ten years and having previously weathered challenges concerning data retention and civil liberties from organizations like the New York Civil Liberties Union, the DAS has continued to attract scrutiny. In late October, a civil lawsuit was filed by a Brooklyn couple in collaboration with Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP). This lawsuit alleges that the NYPD’s ongoing mass surveillance practices infringe upon the constitutional right to privacy in New York State. The complaint claims that NYPD officers can use computer vision software to trace individuals across the city, tracking them from one camera to another using basic descriptors such as clothing color. The suit further contends that this technological capability effectively turns every patrol officer into an unmonitored intelligence asset, able to conduct surveillance without warrants.
