Suspicious of Surveillance, Lander Calls for NYPD Inspector General [Report]

Councilman Brad Lander is calling for the implementation of an Inspector General to oversee the NYPD, following its questionable surveillance practices.

In an op-ed that appeared today in the Huffington Post, Lander, D-Park Slope, wrote that he, along with Councilman Jumaane Williams, D-Brooklyn, and a handful of civic organizations, are deeply skeptical of the department's counter-terrorism methods, which include profiling members of Muslim mosques and student groups without specific criminal leads.

"Targeting specific communities breaks down the bonds of trust needed for good intelligence," Lander wrote. "The confidence that government operatives are not spying on us is a real part of what makes us different from a dictatorship."

Lander went to to say that other major metropolitan police departments—including Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia— are overseen by independent bodies with subpoena power.

"We need a NYPD Inspector General in place so we can have confidence that both our safety and our liberties are being protected," he said.