Closer eye on religious, pol probes

POLICE INVESTIGATIONS of political and religious activity face more internal scrutiny, according to an NYPD watchdog appointed after an outcry over cops’ surveillance of Muslim communities.

More requests for such investigations have been denied or revised by the NYPD committee that meets monthly to review probes that might intrude on citizens’ First Amendment rights, said the first annual report by Stephen Robinson, the committee's civilian member.

From March 2017 to March 2018, 14 requests for investigations were denied, Robinson said.

That’s an increase from four investigation requests rejected or revised in calendar year 2016.

The so-called Handschu Committee includes Robinson and senior NYPD officials who specialize in intelligence and legal affairs.

Robinson’s report did not reveal how many NYPD investigations of political or religious activity are underway. Such investigations now last an average 340.5 days, Robinson says. That’s down from 2016, when probes lasted an average 427 days.

Robinson wrote that he’d raised privacy and free expression concerns to the committee. He also helped persuade the committee to be more transparent about social media content used in ongoing investigations.