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Council Member Althea V. Stevens advocates for abolishing NYPD's gang database
0:12:01
ยท
3 min
Council Member Althea V. Stevens expresses strong support for Intro 798, which calls for the abolishment of the NYPD's gang database. She argues that the database disproportionately targets Black and Brown communities, lacks transparency, and has not been proven to improve public safety.
- Stevens highlights that 96% of the database comprises Black and Brown individuals, despite not being the only people in gangs.
- She cites examples from other cities where eliminating similar databases did not lead to increased crime.
- The council member advocates for investments in affordable housing, education, workforce opportunities, and mental health resources as more effective ways to reduce crime and create safer communities.
Althea V. Stevens
0:12:01
Good morning.
0:12:02
Thank you chair Salaam and speaker Adams for allowing for us to hold this hearing today and consider bill intro seven ninety eight which calls for the abolishment of the NYPD's gang database and prohibits the creation of a success a successor database.
0:12:17
I have been on the public safety committee since I've started in council.
0:12:21
One of the things that I've said time and time again is that the NYPD needs to rebuild the trust in black and brown communities and because of the continuously over policing in those communities.
0:12:35
And the first place I believe that they can start is by abolishing this database.
0:12:39
With this with the with the database is having clear racial disparities because 96% of the database is made up of black and brown people.
0:12:48
And we all know those are not the only people in gangs.
0:12:52
And I would also like to note being in gang being in a gang is not a crime.
0:12:57
I wanted that to be clear.
0:12:59
I would also like to highlight, like I said, it's not a crime and it's having them on surveillance.
0:13:06
For several years prior to council, I traveled across the city as a member of the gang coalition where I educated communities and young people of the existence of the database and young people would use the freedom of information law, FOIL, to see if they were on the database because they were not notified that they were being put on under surveillance.
0:13:26
And for most of and most of those requests still have not been responded to.
0:13:32
There is no true data or proof that this database is that's is solely improving any public safety in the community.
0:13:39
The lack of transparency has only proven that this database is focused on surveillance and racial profiling.
0:13:45
This is not just a New York problem.
0:13:47
Similar databases across the country, they have had synodises across the country and we've had firsthand seen what happens when cities take the right steps to eliminate them.
0:13:57
Recent research proved that the elimination of the gang database in Portland and Chicago did not lead to an increase in crime.
0:14:04
In fact, it was a clear refute claims that the database prevent that the prevention of crime or enhanced safety.
0:14:10
Instead, we've seen in cities that remove the database is an opportunity to reimagine public safety.
0:14:16
One that is built on investments in in communities and not the over policing of our youth.
0:14:21
As a long time nonprofit worker, youth developer, and now the chair of children and youth services, children and youth services, I have the answer to what we actually need to drive down crimes in our communities.
0:14:32
They are investments.
0:14:33
Investments in affordable housing, education, expanding workforce opportunities, mental health resources for our young peoples and community.
0:14:41
This is how we're gonna create safer communities.
0:14:43
Today's legislation is a small step in which NYPD can take in righting some of the wrongs for many years around creating a true community policing plan rather than oppressing other communities.
0:14:58
And I truly believe that we can work together to restore the trust in these communities that have been over policed and work together to to get to a place where we are not seeing such racial disparities.
0:15:10
So thank you.