9 Secrets of the NYPD’s Spy Unit Revealed in ‘Enemies Within’

6. They considered the rakers program highly successful, and christened it the “Demographics Unit.”

The in-depth, individualized reports on each one of New York City’s ethnic neighborhoods allowed Sanchez and Cohen to “visualize the city in a new way”—one they assumed would allow them to quickly zero in on terrorist activity as it was brewing.  In just a few years, they’d transformed the NYPD from plain cops to intelligence officers. The “Demographics Unit,” as this program was christened, mapped out the hotspots (such as mosques and cafes) in each community. If young Muslim men were growing radicalized, for example, they’d know where. Or so they thought.

7. They used it to collect files on huge numbers of innocent citizens, hoping to “thwart homegrown terrorists”

What many of the NYPD officers learned over time was that “raking” didn’t bring any suspicious activity to light. Instead, it led to enormous files of “alleged terrorist activities” that were completely benign. Brooklyn’s Milestone Park, for example, was deemed a “location of concern” for the sole reason that middle-age Albanian men frequent it during the early afternoons. What are they doing, you ask? “Getting together for a game of chess, backgammon, or just to have a conversation,” the rakers report reads. The clearest proof that the spying unit was a failure, Apuzzo and Goldman detail in the book, is the NYPD’s failure to discover suspected terrorist Najibullah Zazi— considered the “single greatest threat to U.S. security since 9/11.”

8. They got Washington to pay for everything, even though it was illegal

In order for the NYPD’s men to look like ordinary customers, the “Demographics Unit” was given thousands of dollars for each of them to spend on coffee, pastries, etc. The money, Apuzzo and Goldman explain, came from the government. “The Demographics Unit, like many Intel operations, benefited from a little-known White House anti drug grant that provided millions of dollars for cars and computers.” Over time, one former NYPD officer familiar with the program said, it became clear that some were focusing their investigation on the places “with the best food.” Such as the Kabul Kabob House in Flushing. How’s that taste, Washington?

9. The result: many Muslims in New York City now live in fear.

While the “Demographics Unit” was renamed “Zone Assessment Unit” in 2010, it is reportedly still very much the same. Rakers continue to troll through “ethnic neighborhoods,” filing multiple reports about “alleged terrorist activity” per day. The result is scared citizens. “The Muslim community is marbled by fear and isolation,” Apuzzo and Goldman write in the epilogue. “The NYPD is in their mosques, businesses, and student groups. Worshippers are afraid to congregate. Young men worry that growing beards will attract police attention.”

Article Appeared @http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/29/9-secrets-of-the-nypd-s-spy-unit-revealed-in-enemies-within.html