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Blaine (Fin) V. Fogg

October 19, 2017 Selmour W. James, Jr

AttornefinihieJ
New York Police Department Tina M. Luongo
F.O.I.L. Unit, Room I l0C Attomey itt-Chalge
CriminalPractice
1 Police Plaza
New York, NY 10038
Via e-mail: FOll-@nvnd.ore

RE: Freedom of Information Request

Dear Freedom of Information Offrcer:

The following request is submitted pursuant to New York Public Officers Law $ $
84-90. The request is made by a group of community organizations, impacted families and
concemed citizens whose communities are being affected by gang raids, immigration
sweeps, surveillance, databases and collection of secret dossiers on suspected gang
members and individuals alleged to be associated with gang members.

1 . All documents, training materials, regulations and guidelines pertaining to how the
NYPD classifies individuals as gang members.

2. All documents, training materials, regulations and guidelines and other statements
ofpolicy directing NYPD officers on how to recognize gang membership or gang
activity. This includes, but is not limited to, clothing, jewelry, hairstyle, shoes,
tattoos, logos, symbols, graffiti tags, pattems, colors, symbols, hand gestures, songs,
whistles, etc.

3. All documents, training materials, regulations and guidelines pertaining to how any
NYPD database, list or other computerized information system that tracks and/or
aggregates gang membership or gang afliliation is created, maintained, verified,
shared, purged and archived.

4. All documents, training materials, records, guidelines, or regulations, describing

and./or defining "gang," "gang member," "association," and "gang-related criminal
activity."
Page 2

5. All documents, training matedals, records, guidelines, regulations, or statements

setting forth criteria for certirying an individual as a gang member, associate or
affiliate in any database.

6. Any document reflecting the total number of individuals whose personal

information appears in the gang database, by year, from January 2009 to present.

7. Any document reflecting the demographic information, including but not limited to
race, gender, and age, ofindividuals listed in NYPD databases as gang members or
associates, by year, from January 2009 to present.

8. Copies of all documents, records, or forms used by the NYPD to document gang
intelligence.

9. Copies of forms used for field interviews and documentation of potential or actual
gang members, affiliates or associates.

10. All documents, records ofidentified gangs and estimates ofnumber of

and lists
members in each gang in New York City from 2009 to present.

11. All regulations, training materials, rules, guidelines, or standards for car or street
stops where gang activity is suspected.

12. All documents and/or records reflecting the number of stops where gang activity
was suspected, by month or year for the last ten years.

13. Any notices, letters, and associated proofs of service ofdocuments served on gang
members or suspected gang members and associates regarding NYPD penalties for
participation in a criminal street gang.

14. All documents, records, guidelines, or regulations describing a process

through
which an individual may request information on whether NYPD classifies the
individual as a member of a gang.

15. All documents, records, guidelines, or regulations describing through

a process
which an individual or group may challenge a finding ofgang membership or
participation.

16. All documents, records, guidelines, or regulations identifing the personnel who
designate individuals as gang members in NYPD's information system(s).
Page 3

17. All documents, records, guidelines, or regulations identiffing the unit(s) or rank(s)
that designate individuals as gang members in NYPD's information system(s).

18. All documents, records, regulations and guidelines pertaining to information

sharing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE'), the Department of
Homeland Security ('DHS'), or any other federal agency.

19. All documents, records, regulations and guidelines pertaining to information sharing
with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services ("DCJS"), or any
other state agency, database, or information system.

20. All documents, records, regulations and guidelines regarding information-sharing

between the NYPD and ICE, DHS, and/or any other federal agency.

The New York Freedom of Information Law requires your office to respond within five
business days. If it will take longer for your office to grant us access to the records we are
requesting, please contact us with information about when we may expect copies or the
ability to inspect the requested records. Please also provide us with a copy ofthe internal
report explaining the delay that procedure number 211-17 ofthe New York Police
Departrnent Patrol Guide section 9 requires your department to file with the Document
Production Unit.

Ifyou deny any or all ofthis entire request, please cite the specific exemption you rely on
for each request you deny and notify us ofthe appeal procedures available to us under the
law. Please also provide us with a copy of the intemal report that procedure number 21 I - 17
ofthe New York Police Departrnent Patrol Guide section 10 requires your department to
file with the Document Production Unit explaining the denial oieach request.

Please send any correspondence related to this FOIL request to me at aposada(lilesal-

aid.org.

Thank you for considering our request.

Sincerely,

Posada, Esq.
Supervising Attomey
The Legal Aid Society
Community Justice Unit
199 Water Street 6 Floor
New York, NY 10038
(212) s77-338s
tt osad le al-aid.o
on behalf of a coalition consisting of:
Page 4

Family members ofpeople impacted by "gang" policing, Brooklyn Defender Services,

Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Coalition to End Broken Windows, Critical
Resistance NYC, ICE-Free NYC, Just Leadership USA, Legal Aid Society, Mi Casa No Es
Tu Casa, Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College, PROP, Reform RICO,
Queens Neighborhoods United, Unlocal, Voices of Community Activists & Leaders
(VOCAL-NY), We Care, Why Accountability, and Youth Represent.