New York City Police Department disbands Muslim surveillance unit

The Zone Assessment Unit of the New York City Police Department has been disbanded after more than a decade of covertly monitoring local Muslim communities.

In a statement made Tuesday, the NYPD said: "Understanding certain local demographics can be a useful factor when assessing information regarding potential threats coming to the attention of the New York City Police Department."

"It has been determined that much of the same information previously gathered by the Zone Assessment Unit may be obtained through direct outreach by the NYPD to the communities concerned."

Subject to two lawsuits and mounting public criticism, the controversial program was first uncovered by the Associated Press in 2011.

Created by a CIA officer in 2003, the surveillance program sent plainclothes police officers to New York's densely Muslim neighborhoods to eavesdrop on residents.

The idea behind the unit was to stop potential terrorists - but in the end, resulted in no leads. Instead, it sent waves of resentment and suspicion through the local Muslim communities.

Raymond Kelly, the New York police commissioner at the time, defended the practice, saying, "We intend to continue to do the things we believe we have to do to protect New York City, certainly the No. 1 terrorist target in this country.”

As a part of the program, undercover cops would befriend Muslims and start conversations with them. They would then take note of Muslims' feelings about America and foreign policy and relay it back to their intelligence team.

In 2012, the president of the American Arab Forum, Aref Assaf, said the program hurt trust between Muslims and local authorities.

"We feel so much harm and so much suspicion is taking place," said Assaf. "They are attacking the most important thing we believe in: our faith."

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the NYPD significantly increased its antiterror programs. The police entered into unprecedented relationships with federal government spy agencies, like the CIA, which raised questions about who protects our cities and what methods could be used.

With the end of the Zone Assessment Unit, what other steps can the NYPD take to end controversial surveillance tactics?

Is this type of secretive program ever permissible? Or does it automatically fall into profiling?

Could the argument be made that this suppresses potentially criminal activity?

We consulted a panel of experts for the Inside Story.

This panel was assembled for the broadcast of “Inside Story.”

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