Judge blocks key NYPD tactic: Scouring sealed arrest records
A judge on Monday barred New York City police officers from accessing sealed arrest records without a court order, halting a long-standing practice of plying confidential information in department files to aid investigations, target suspects and shape policing decisions.
State Judge Lyle Frank in Manhattan issued a preliminary injunction saying that the police department’s unfettered use of sealed records violated a 1976 state law shielding arrest and court files of criminal defendants whose cases end without a conviction.
In most cases, Frank said, the law requires court approval for police to see those records, which include arrest reports, photographs and fingerprints. He said police can still use aggregate arrest data without violating the sealing law, which was enacted to protect people from suffering reputational harm merely for being accused of a crime.