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By: Meir Wolfsheim
Mayor Eric Adams and top NYPD officials strongly criticized a progressive-backed bill aimed at eliminating the NYPD’s gang database, warning that such a move would make it harder to catch violent criminals and prevent shootings, the New York Post reported.
During a press conference at City Hall, Adams dismissed left-wing claims that the Criminal Group Database amounts to racial profiling, pointing to the harsh reality of crime statistics. “There’s a number they leave out—96% of the victims of shootings in the city are people of color. Let’s keep them in mind,” the mayor stated, according to the Post.
Adams, a former transit police captain, underscored that many gang members “prey on innocent people in their community” and that some are “extremely dangerous” repeat offenders. “We can’t be so idealistic that we’re not realistic,” he warned, per the Post.
The New York Post reported that the mayor’s remarks came as the City Council’s Public Safety Committee concluded a hearing on the bill, which has been championed by progressive lawmakers and activists. NYPD officials revealed that about 500 groups are identified as gangs and that a significant portion of individuals in the database have criminal histories—25% are convicted felons, 33% are on parole or probation, and nearly one-third have been arrested at least 20 times. Additionally, one-third have been involved in shootings, the Post noted.
Queens Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola slammed the bill as detached from reality, stating, “I’ve never met a constituent who asked for the gang database to be abolished—though they do want more police officers assigned to their neighborhoods,” the Post reported.
Bronx Democratic Councilwoman Althea Stevens, a sponsor of the bill, pushed back against critics, saying, “It seems like racial profiling.” Opponents of the database argue it unfairly stigmatizes minorities and results in guilt by association, with some claiming it’s nearly impossible to be removed from the list, according to the Post.
However, NYPD officials emphasized that there are strict protocols for placing individuals in the database. The Post reported that officers must provide solid evidence of gang affiliation, and entries require supervisor approval. The department has also tightened its criteria, leading to a 27% reduction in the number of individuals in the database since 2019, dropping from over 18,000 to 13,200. Juvenile entries have declined by 64%, from 440 to 160, per the Post.
Michael Gerber, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of legal affairs, defended the database’s necessity, stating that it does not appear in an individual’s criminal history, is not shared with schools, landlords, or employers, and is not used as direct evidence in court. “Abolishing it would be a mistake,” Gerber said, warning that eliminating the database would slow investigations and increase the likelihood of retaliatory violence, the Post reported.
Despite being backed by 25 City Council members, the bill has been in legislative limbo for years. Unlike the recently passed “How Many Stops Act,” which requires police officers to document even minor interactions with the public and which Adams vehemently opposed, the gang database bill does not appear to have overwhelming Council support at this time, the New York Post noted.
