gang database

On the campaign trail in 2021, a majority of candidates for city offices supported shuttering the Boston Police Department’s controversial gang database and ending the department’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Last year, the Boston City Council passed a sweeping law aimed at reining in surveillance practices by the Boston Police Department and other city agencies.

Justices of the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled in favor of a Salvadoran immigrant’s petition to review a deportation order, finding in favor of his argument that a Boston Police Department gang database determination falsely identified him as a member of the MS-13 gang.

Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell stopped a six-figure grant for the Boston Regional Intelligence Center after another councilor brought it to a surprise vote on Wednesday.

A new poll shows at-large City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George leading in the mayoral race with support from 22% of likely voters, inching ahead of at-large Councilor Michelle Wu, who had support from 18% and acting Mayor Kim Janey, who had support from 16%.

The Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) — is under fire from city councilors and criminal justice reform advocates who are raising concerns about the Boston Police Department’s surveillance practices and cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officials.

Critics of the Boston Police Department’s gang database say individuals are often misidentified as gang members and face disastrous consequences once they’re added to the list.

City councilors Andrea Campbell and Ricardo Arroyo are looking into the effectiveness of the Boston Police Department’s Gang Database, which holds 160 gangs and over 5,000 individual names, according to data provided to the ACLU in 2019.