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Professor Babe Howell expresses concerns about the gang database's size and misuse
3:21:09
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Professor Babe Howell from CUNY School of Law raises concerns about the size of the gang database and its potential for misuse. She argues that maintaining such a large database is counterproductive and can lead to wrongful convictions.
- Howell questions the productivity of maintaining a database of 13,000 individuals
- She highlights how the database can lead to excessive arrests for minor offenses
- The professor argues that the database can result in guilt by association and wrongful convictions
Babe Howell
3:21:09
Would say, As Anthony said, they can investigate.
3:21:17
The materials that they're talking about like social media posts aren't disappearing either.
3:21:22
If you want to know who so and so is, might have an argument with, great, nothing has disappeared.
3:21:30
Maintaining a database of 13,000 individuals is not productive.
3:21:38
And what they're doing to those individuals is having a situation where they say a third of them have been arrested 20 or more times.
3:21:48
They are picking these guys up for littering, for smoking.
3:21:53
Harassment.
3:21:55
They are talking to them, and guilt by association can lead to the wrong conclusion.
3:22:00
They're looking at the social groups they mapped and jumping to conclusions, they used cooperators and let out the people who are the worst offenders.
3:22:15
And I've read transcript after transcript of shooters cooperating and walking out while someone for whom there is insufficient evidence is convicted.
3:22:25
Simultaneously, the Bronx 1 Hundred 20, half of them not even alleged to be in either of the crews, and we're not talking gangs, we're talking crews.
3:22:33
500 of them, they're talking community neighborhood groups, friendship groups.
3:22:39
So how can they investigate?
3:22:41
When a crime happens they should get out there, they should talk to people if they need to, if they think social media of the particular victim would be helpful, check it out.
3:22:51
But do not database tens of thousands of kids for their friendship groups.
3:22:59
So A, what they should do is investigate, and B, what they should not do is create a huge database that can mislead and end up with wrongful convictions.