de Blasio, Making America Less Safe

Originally posted January 12, 2015.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is responsible for shutting down America’s best counterterror force. NYPD shuttered the special surveillance group known as the Demographics Unit in April of last year. This was the group that monitored Muslim groups thought to be possible terrorist threats. How does this move look in light of recent events in Paris?

Securing The City tells the inside story of what Christopher Dickey labels America’s best counterterror force—NYPD. Americans reading this excellent book about Ray Kelly and his team will look with abject horror at de Blasio’s control of the NYPD.

From NPR:

The New York Police Department said Tuesday it would disband a special unit charged with detecting possible terrorist threats by carrying out secret surveillance of Muslim groups.

The squad that conducted the surveillance, known as the Demographics Unit, was formed in 2003. It brought the NYPD under fire from community groups and activists who accused the force of abusing civil rights and profiling.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said his administration has promised “a police force that keeps our city safe, but that is also respectful and fair.”