NYPD Decides To Ape FBI's Tactics And Cite The 'Mosaic Theory' As The Reason It Won't Disclose Budget Data
from the NYPD-forces-NYC-to-secede-from-nation,-run-as-martial-state dept
The NYPD apparently feels it's one of the Big Boys. Presiding over a city of 8 million citizens and given free rein to operate outside the confines of the Constitution (while being tirelessly defended by the mayor and police chief) has given the department an outsized sense of self-worth. Now, it's deploying fed-level talking points to further deny access to public records via freedom of information requests.
The New York City Police Department is invoking a concept frequently employed by intelligence agencies like the FBI and CIA to deny a request for financial records on the unit that surveils Muslim communities.Observers will note this is the same excuse given by the FBI to turn down perfectly legal FOIA requests from Ryan Shapiro, a former punk rocker turned animal rights activist. Shapiro utilized privacy waivers to make multiple requests for the same documents. Multiple versions of the same documents uncovered anomalies in the redactions, allowing Shapiro to access info that he wouldn't have received with a single request. The FBI's argument was basically that it sucked at consistent censoring, therefore Shapiro shouldn't be allowed to receive any documents as the result of FOIA requests.
Even to release a budget for the secretive Zone Assessment Unit, the NYPD claimed in a letter to HuffPost, would allow someone to "form a mosaic that depicts covert public safety activities that would be jeopardized."
As Matt Sledge at the Huffington Post points out, this "mosaic theory" has been deployed by administrations as far back as Reagan's in order to avoid complying with FOIA requests. But this is the first time a local law enforcement agency has used the theory to block access to public documents.
[Bob] Freeman, one of the state's leading authorities on FOIL law, said he has never seen a local law enforcement agency deny a records request on the basis of the mosaic theory. Nor has Jeffrey Light, a lawyer who litigates both federal FOIA lawsuits relating to intelligence agencies and Washington, D.C., police public records requests.The first issue here is the "mosaic theory" itself. The fear that dedicated requesters could piece together classified information by requesting multiple documents is an indictment of the system itself. Routine overclassification has made it impossible for those charged with vetting and releasing requested documents to do their job effectively. The bar for declaring something classified has been set so low that its use is almost entirely subjective. Instead of having verifiable standards that span each agency, every FOIA request is turned over to a variety of fiefdoms. Classified info leaks because there's no standard being applied. Everyone deploys the black marker differently, largely based on self-interest.
The NYPD also denied HuffPost's requests for information on policies relating to its cooperation with foreign governments under the International Liaison Program, which has placed NYPD officers in a dozen foreign countries to report on terror attacks. The NYPD stated that it had no records of such policies. The department also rejected requests for records on financial support from the New York City Police Foundation and federal agencies like the White House's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. The Associated Press revealed last year that White House funds had been used to pay for Zone Assessment Unit vehicles and computers.
In addition to the mosaic theory, the NYPD also cited a slew of reasons why it couldn't release the records, ranging from the fear that they might reveal confidential sources and information, to ongoing litigation against NYPD spying, to a public records law exemption for intra-agency privilege. It did not cite which exemptions were being applied to which records requests.
The other issue is the NYPD itself, which has been described as worse than the CIA, FBI and NSA when it comes to responding to FOIA requests. The department deploys every tactic possible to refuse requests and that's often following weeks of stonewalling. Just recently, the department went so far as to refuse public access to precinct police blotters, a staple of public information that it has shared without issue for decades. And this latest affront to open government and accountability is over budget documents of all things, and yet the PD claims it will expose methods and operational data.
Freedom of Information laws are specifically in place to thwart government agencies' natural tendency to obscure and obfuscate. The NYPD has never been much for sharing info with the public, dating all the way back to Giuliani's mayoral reign. Under Chief Kelly, the antagonistic attitude towards the public has only increased, along with the NYPD's secretiveness. Now, it's deloying the sort of anti-FOIA rhetoric normally reserved for federal investigative agencies and presidential administrations. New York City may be the largest city in the nation, but this is still a police department -- albeit one that insists on punching above its weight.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: fbi, freedom of information, mosaic theory, new york, nypd
Reader Comments
The First Word
“That being said, mosaic theory is only a reasonable defense against information-gathering in some circumstances; the public interest cuts in favor of both individual privacy rights and transparent government. Therefore, the tenuous protection of mosaic theory should be afforded to circumstances that might violate an individual's rights to privacy but not when a citizen is attempting to enjoy their right to know what their government is doing.
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
It's called a Writ of Mandamus.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What is with New York City?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
How to defeat the "mosaic problem".
When you get a second request for the same document, you just point out it's already available.
Now you don't have the problem of differing redacted versions, because you only ever need to make one version.
You also happen to make your organization vastly more transparent in the process.
Three guesses as to why the various organizations won't implement this method...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mosaic Theory eh?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
How about that...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
They do whatever they want without fear of any serious, personal punishment.
They might have a minor public relations problem, but it will pass soon... and the public will forget (even here).
Remember "Serpico" (?) Corruption is a way of life; it gets worse as cop agencies get ever bigger.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Our Own Worst Enemy
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Our Own Worst Enemy
Now, if they had proven themselves trustworthy, and willing to keep those that would abuse their power in check themselves, then yeah, people probably wouldn't mind some secrets, as there is justification for not making everything public.
To say they have failed to do so would be an understatement of epic proportions.
Both groups(again, among others) have shown that they can not be trusted to keep themselves in check, and are willing to claim 'classified' on any data that might expose their actions, or embarrass them, not just information that would be legitimately dangerous if made public.
This means that if the people are to find out just what they've been doing, they have to have access to it all, because there is no longer an easy way to tell whether something is classified because it would be dangerous to the people if it were made public, or classified because it would be dangerous to a few specific careers or agencies if it were made public.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Our Own Worst Enemy
If they fail to act on our behalf, or were lying during their campaign to get votes they wouldn't get if they told the truth (Obama is about the most famous example of both currently in office) then our system will result in those votes they no longer qualify for to another candidate, and remove them from office at the next election (or sooner, in the case of recall elections and impeachment). This is also why we have term limits on high offices -- so that no one can become elected for life.
But if We the People are not allowed to know what our representatives are doing in our names, we can't make an informed decision on who to vote for. Voting is supposed to be how the People control our own government, not how we rubber stamp acts of government we're not allowed to read.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Our Own Worst Enemy
1) Obama is not the most famous liar currently in office
2) There is no recall at the federal level
3) Demanding impeachment for every little thing one does not like is detrimental to your credibility
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Our Own Worst Enemy
Instead of working to get our congresscritters back in line, we're fighting each other over partisan crap on one side and refusing to engage with our reps or even offer a legitimate solution beyond a possible burst of violence with no long-term plan for what to do afterwards, the result of which would be either a power vacuum followed by the fragmentation of our nation into the antebellum split or a doubling down of the surveillance state. My money's on the doubling-down as they are better armed than we are and they know what we're posting here so cool your heels, Advocate.
We need to work together to restore the democratic process to the heart of our nation's political discourse instead of talking trash about violent rebellion.
It starts by getting involved in the democratic process by voting and by promoting those candidates we want to win so that others vote for them too. However, be aware that only the most appealing candidate will win. A minarchist I know decided that democracy had failed him when a candidate he wanted got nowhere in the last election. That was down to the extreme right-wing views of the candidate, not the electorate. Honey gets more flies for you than vinegar, people.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
ftfy
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: ftfy
'Oh that's the beer and pizza project, sometimes we have a rough time on the job, throwing minorities against walls and screaming at them to clear out their pockets or they'll get to cool off in a cell for the night can really cause you to work up a sweat, so we have some money set aside for relaxation.'
'Paid for by the taxpayers... of course you do. Next project.'
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That being said, mosaic theory is only a reasonable defense against information-gathering in some circumstances; the public interest cuts in favor of both individual privacy rights and transparent government. Therefore, the tenuous protection of mosaic theory should be afforded to circumstances that might violate an individual's rights to privacy but not when a citizen is attempting to enjoy their right to know what their government is doing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Private citizens have not sworn an oath to uphold the law, are not entrusted with vast resources or a near-monopoly on use of force. So why is it that people who do have or have done all of those things get a free pass on breaking the law, when anyone else would get their compliance with the law enforced by a SWAT team?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Too Big to Fail Means Too Big to Care
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"NYPD Decides To Ape FBI's Tactics And Cite The 'Mosaic Theory' As The Reason It Won't Disclose Budget Data"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: "NYPD Decides To Ape FBI's Tactics And Cite The 'Mosaic Theory' As The Reason It Won't Disclose Budget Data"
Idiot theories like this belong on the Alex Jones Show.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Guy who was successfuly sued under RICO while in LAPD.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
They can't have it both ways
If the actions of the NSA are to be accepted as not being such an invasion, then the mosaic theory cannot be accepted as a reason to dodge FOIA requests.
They government shouldn't be able to have it both ways.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]