On Wednesday, March 29th, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lyle Frank made an order preventing NYPD officers from illegally obtaining and sharing information from sealed files. The police department will have to change its procedure regarding access to its databases containing information such as fingerprints, photos, and complaints.
A list of a limited number of officers, who are approved to access this information, will be drawn up by the NYPD. This list of approved officers will have to be drawn up within the next 60 days and the aforementioned officers will also have access to the NYPD’s evidence warehouse. The list of officers to have access to the above-mentioned information and evidence warehouse will have to be regularly approved and audited by the court. Any other officers of the NYPD who wish to access the sealed files will require a judge’s order to do so.
The NYPD was also ordered to utilize a different set-up technological system used to access sealed files and records. This would include ensuring sealed records are not easily accessible on predictive policing technologies. According to Judge Frank’s order, the department is required to put in place restrictive mechanisms that prevent accessing sealed records without the requisite court order.
Sealed files stem from a 1976 state law that states all information and evidence garnered from a criminal case that is concluded without a conviction should be blocked or sealed from access by members of the public as well as public or private agencies. This information is typically used in matters regarding the provision of gun licenses or situations relating to limited criminal prosecutions.
This matter was launched as a class action against the NYPD by the Bronx Defenders and Cleary Gottlieb & Hamilton LLP in 2018. The NYPD was accused of regularly accessing sealed records without the required permission. “Today’s decision ensures that the NYPD will no longer flout the law by using sealed arrest records to surveil, harass, and target people,” said Niji Jain, Bronx Defenders senior attorney. “The legislature passed this law decades ago to ensure that New Yorkers are not forever haunted by an unproven accusation, especially people of color who are disproportionately harmed by over-policing, and we’re glad the Court is finally giving force to these important protections.”
In the past, advocates for the limited access to sealed records claimed that NYPD officers used them to target people of color, justify over-policing, and taint the reputations of people killed by police.
The city’s law department said it would be taking a good look at the court’s findings and decide what is the best move forward. The NYPD has always claimed access to sealed records as a tactic that is crucial for both public and officer safety. The department offered no comment regarding this judgment however, former police commissioner Dermot Shea warned of the order’s consequences, claiming it would create dangerous scenarios.
