Are you in the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) gang database?
Since 2009, the MPD has been secretly collecting information on a large number of people alleged or suspected to be gang members or associates, using aggressive policing tactics and minimal due process standards. Public records indicate that the MPD has over 3,500 District of Columbia (“D.C.”) residents—approximately 95% of whom are Black and Latinx—on its gang database. Media reports have also revealed that the personal information of individuals in the MPD gang database has been shared with over 9,400 government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Secret Service, among others.
Gang databases are over-inclusive, inaccurate, and disparate in impact. Entry into the MPD gang database does not require any evidence of criminality or suspicion of wrongdoing. Through the use of this database, the MPD secretly continues to keep eyes on Black and Brown individuals and communities in the District of Columbia.
You have a right to know if you are among the thousands who are subject to this racist and overbroad surveillance. The D.C. Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requires the MPD to disclose “any public record” requested by any person if the record is not otherwise protected. Through FOIA, you can request the MPD to share information that it may maintain on you in its gang database. By submitting this request, you are exercising your right to hold the MPD accountable and demand transparency.
If you are interested in submitting a FOIA request to uncover whether the MPD has been tracking you through its gang database, you have two options. The actual requests are identical in both options. What is different is the manner of submittal. You can:
- Click HERE to access a sample FOIA Request. You can replicate it with your information and then send it to the MPD yourself via foia.admin@dc.gov.
- If you do not wish to submit a FOIA request to the MPD yourself, we can do it for you. All you have to do is complete the form below and we will send the signed FOIA request letter to the MPD on your behalf. By doing so, we will receive a copy of the FOIA request (and so will you), but only you will receive the response to your FOIA request from the MPD. A copy of what the completed request will look like is provided HERE.
The Chicago Justice Project and Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs would like to know about the results of your FOIA request. This will allow us to document the scope of the MPD’s secret prying into the lives of Black and Brown District residents. Any information shared with us will only be used for summary data and anonymous anecdotal information. We will not use your name or personal information without prior permission from you. If you are willing to share the results of (response to) your FOIA request, please send them to this email address: mpd_foia@chicagojustice.org.
If you have any questions or if you learn that you have been wrongfully placed in the MPD gang database, please contact the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs at https://www.washlaw.org/who-we-serve/get-legal-help/ or (202) 319-1000. We can answer questions and explore your legal options. We can also visit your organization, community center, or student group to provide trainings and support on FOIA and your rights in connection with the MPD gang database.
We look forward to hearing from you.