The New York City Police Department routinely violated court-mandated rules on handling investigations of political activity, particularly Muslim groups or individuals, the department’s watchdog said in a report released on Tuesday. The report said 95 percent of police investigations governed by the guidelines involved individuals or political activities predominantly associated with Islam. Earlier this year, the city agreed to settle a lawsuit that claimed a secretive NYPD programme that conducted broad surveillance of Muslim neighbourhoods, mosques and businesses violated the Handschu guidelines. John Miller, the department’s top counter-terrorism official, said working within the guidelines of the law is necessary to stop terrorist groups. This summer, the NYPD activated an electronic case tracking system dedicated to all Handschu investigations that automatically tracks renewed dates and authorisations, according to police documents.

Source: Hindustan Times August 23, 2016 22:52 UTC