Brian Lair on WNYC.

Now we'll talk about the controversy playing out in court and playing out in politics over the

NYPD's gang database.

This is similar to the debate at the national level over the Trump

gang database being used to round people up for deportation without criminal charges or proof

of gang membership in many cases, but the local New York City version. Civil rights groups argue

that the database unfairly targets black and Latino New Yorkers, casts too white a net,

and relies on ambiguous criteria to identify supposed gang members. These critics have now

taken their concerns to court, filing a lawsuit, challenging the database's legality and claiming

it is a tool of discrimination. Meanwhile, city council and the Adams administration

have clashed over the database's future with the mayor defending it as a critical public

safety tool, but council members considering a bill to abolish it or limit its use. We'll hear now

from two experts with different perspectives on this issue. Joining us are Babe

Howell, a professor at the CUNY School of Law, who has studied the impact of gang policing on

marginalized communities, and Peter Moskos, professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice,

former Baltimore City Police Officer, and author of a new book, Back from the Brink, Inside the NYPD

and New York City's extraordinary 1990s crime drop. Professor Howell and Professor Moskos,

thanks for coming on today. Hi there. Good morning. Thanks for having us. And listeners,

you're invited in too. Do you think the NYPD gang database is a necessary tool for keeping community safe,

or is it unfair and potentially dangerous overreach?

You can help us report this story as well as debate this issue.

Any members of the NYPD listening?

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