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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Craig Lewis on NYPD's Gang Database
3:04:06
ยท
133 sec
Craig Lewis, a member of the public, testifies against the NYPD's gang database, arguing that it unfairly targets individuals who may not be committing crimes and can lead to wrongful convictions. He emphasizes that being part of a gang or associating with criminals should not be a crime in itself.
- Lewis shares his personal experience as part of the Bronx 120 case, where he pleaded guilty to a crime he didn't commit to avoid a longer sentence.
- He criticizes the database as an "easy way out" for law enforcement that can lead to the persecution of innocent youth.
- Lewis suggests that there might be better ways to address crime issues without relying on the gang database.
Craig Lewis
3:04:06
Can you hear me?
3:04:07
Alright.
3:04:10
I don't more so wanna repeat what out there, missus out there Stevens said, but being a part of a gang isn't the initial crime.
3:04:22
I believe when you commit a crime, you should do the time, of course, but being friends of friends of friends that commit crimes should not be the reason why you're in jail.
3:04:33
On the gang database, yes, it is a tool that the NYPD uses, but it might be a tool that makes it a lot more easier for you to do your job.
3:04:43
So to speak, if I go to take a SAT test and I have a cheat sheet next to me, I might be able to cheat unless I get caught.
3:04:51
Now, the GAIN database, it leaves it open for a lot of people that may not be committing crimes to be persecuted, and I am one of those people from the Bronx 120 that I can honestly say I copped out to a crime that I didn't do just so I could come home.
3:05:08
I would hate for that to continue to happen to my community because it's the backbreaker, and how will the youth become anybody that could sit in these chairs if they continuously get persecuted for crimes.
3:05:22
Guilty by association isn't a crime in the law.
3:05:26
It's not in the law book, not the law that I studied when I was in school, and I feel like the gang database ultimately leaves a lot of the youth susceptible to being in prison for just being from a neighborhood or being in the music video, socializing with a music video.
3:05:43
I heard someone up here speak on the influence of these rappers and we can't like ignore the fact that that helps them make their case.
3:05:53
A significant rapper from a significant neighborhood who may have fans and yet they might be influential, but maybe there's another way to attack this other than just basing it on a tool.
3:06:05
So they said they could use other ways to get rid of these problems, or they could use other ways to find the criminals, but they're basing it on the database, And if that's the easy way out, everything easy isn't always good.
3:06:18
Thank you.