New York Police Department Intelligence Unit records
Collection REC0044 - RG 062. New York Police Department
Abstract
The New York Police Department Intelligence Unit records consists of surveillance records created and collected by the Intelligence Division of the Inspectional Services Bureau of the New York Police Department, circa 1930-2013. These records were part of the legal case, Handschu v. Special Services Division, and are commonly referred to as "Handschu." The collection is comprised of two groups of similar records: (ACC-2015-022) New York Police Department Intelligence Unit records, circa 1930-1990 and (ACC-2018-014) New York Police Department Intelligence Unit records ("Handschu, part 2"), circa 1960-2013. Included are photographs; communication files; police reports; arrest reports; newspaper clippings; index cards and other indexes; ephemera such as fliers, posters, and publications; and a small amount of audiovisual material.
Extent
672 cubic feet
Dates
circa 1930-2013, bulk 1955-1973
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research. Some records in this collection may be restricted due to content or format. The reproduction of records is not permitted without permission of the Municipal Archives due to the inclusion of personally identifiable information (PII) and other restricted information throughout this collection.
In Subgroup 2, there are significant privacy concerns, in particular for the people being surveilled. Many of the subject file cards include or correspond to a picture, full name, date of birth, arrest history, political/organizational affiliation, address, citizenship status, DMV records, or other personally identifiable information (PII) of an individual (many of the photographs include this information as well). Similarly, there are details about informants in various places. There are also privacy concerns for the officers whose actions are documented as well, because the records can include full names associated with shield numbers, medical information, and fingerprints. Some records have not met legal retention periods and are restricted. Some media formats need specialized playback equipment to access (VHS and floppy disks in particular).
The Municipal Archives can provide redacted (PII) records for reproduction requests. Please contact us for more information or to make a research appointment.
In Subgroup 2, there are significant privacy concerns, in particular for the people being surveilled. Many of the subject file cards include or correspond to a picture, full name, date of birth, arrest history, political/organizational affiliation, address, citizenship status, DMV records, or other personally identifiable information (PII) of an individual (many of the photographs include this information as well). Similarly, there are details about informants in various places. There are also privacy concerns for the officers whose actions are documented as well, because the records can include full names associated with shield numbers, medical information, and fingerprints. Some records have not met legal retention periods and are restricted. Some media formats need specialized playback equipment to access (VHS and floppy disks in particular).
The Municipal Archives can provide redacted (PII) records for reproduction requests. Please contact us for more information or to make a research appointment.
Additional Description
Physical Location
Materials are stored onsite at 31 Chambers Street in Manhattan and at 147 41st Street in Brooklyn.
Custodial History
The records in this collection were initially held by the Bureau of Special Services, also known as the Special Services Division and the Public Security Section of the New York Police Department. The records were managed at Police Headquarters beginning in 1980 as a result of the Handschu vs. Special Services Division lawsuit. The Inspectional Services Division, an administrative unit responsible for managing audits and record requests, oversaw the records and made them available to the public.
In September 1989, Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr. appointed Joseph Settani, a certified records manager, to audit the intelligence records. The audit aimed to determine deliberate attempts to block access to the records. Settani conducted a comprehensive investigation and created the organization/records series, and recommendations for storage.
The police department transferred the records to DORIS' Municipal Records Management facility after filing a records retention disposal application in 2008-2009. The records were formally transferred and accessioned to the custody of the Municipal Archives in 2015. Archivists conducted surveys of the series in 2016, and formal processing began the following year and continued until February 2024.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The New York Police Department transferred the records to DORIS in 2008 to comply with the ruling of Handschu et al. vs. Special Services Division (1986). The collections were formally accessioned by the Municipal Archives in 2015 and 2018. This collection is comprised of two accessions: ACC-2015-022 and ACC-2018-014.
Separated Materials
Oversized material and audiovisual material have been removed from their original location and stored in appropriately sized housing. Separation sheets mark their original location.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Municipal Archives staff between 2016-2024. Processing was stopped for several years during the Covid-19 pandemic when City offices were closed, and staff worked remotely. The collection was processed by the following people: Rossy Mendez, 2017-2024; David Mathurin, 2017-2018; Patricia Glowinski, 2018-2024; Zachary Kautzman, 2021-2024; Isamar Rea, 2023; Amelia Fedo, 2023; Urmi Udeshi, 2024; Barbara Hibbert, 2024; and Sarah Cuk, 2024. The finding aid was written by Rossy Mendez, Patricia Glowinski, Zachary Kautzman, and Elliott Hadwin.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists mostly of records created by the Bureau of Special Services and Special Services Division between 1930-2013 (bulk 1955-1973) and records created by the Inspectional Services Division. The collection includes a variety of records including officer reports, logs, intra- and interagency correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, and some audiovisual materials. Also included in the collection are personal effects such as address books and journals. Other items collected during investigations including fliers, posters, brochures, and a small number of ephemera. The collection also includes records created by Joseph Settani, a certified records manager who was appointed by Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr. in 1989 to audit the intelligence records. In this work he created the organization/records series.
Biographical/Historical Information
The origin of New York Police Department (NYPD) intelligence squads can be traced back to around 1905 when the police investigated the Black Hand Society, a group of Italian anarchists. Over the years, several squads have operated in the Intelligence Unit, including the Radical Bureau in 1912, the Neutrality Squad in 1915, which investigated various anarchists and foreign agents, the Radical Squad that focused on gangs, bombs, and other criminal activities, the Bureau of Criminal Alien Investigation (Alien Squad), the Public Relations squad, and finally the Bureau of Special Services and Investigations (BOSSI), also known as the "Red Squad."
The Bureau of Special Services (BOSSI) is perhaps the most well-known because of its prolific investigations into the Communist Party during the 1940s and 1950s, and its subsequent investigations and infiltrations into organizations like the Black Panthers, Nation of Islam, and the Nazi Party. The BOSSI unit operated from the 1950s to the mid-1970s within the Intelligence Division as part of the more extensive Security and Investigation Section (SIS) of the New York Police Department. The name changed to Special Services Division around 1971 and subsequently became part of the Public Security Section of the Intelligence Division.
The Bureau of Special Services was responsible for investigating labor disputes, providing security detail for various dignitaries, securing information relating to political or social activities of individuals or groups seen as a threat to the City's security, and cooperating with investigations conducted by the Immigration and Naturalization Services and other federal agencies. To support information gathering, BOSSI engaged in activities that included infiltration, wiretapping, information gathering at events both public and private that included overt and hidden photography, eavesdropping, and filming of various suspects and events.
In 1971, the Panther 21 indictment (Black Panther members charged with planning attacks on NYC offices) exposed the activities of BOSSI to the general public. The case revealed police department surveillance and infiltration of the Black Panther organization, and collaboration with the federal government to investigate individuals. A few days after the Black Panther members were acquitted, Barbara Handschu, along with fifteen other individuals, filed a lawsuit against the Special Services Division of the Police Department of the City of New York. The suit was certified as a class action suit in 1979. It listed Patrick W. Murphy, Police Commissioner, William Knapp, Head of the Special Services Division, and John B. Lindsay, Mayor of New York City, among the defendants.
The NYPD and plaintiffs settled in 1985. As part of his ruling, District Court Judge Charles W. Haight Jr. set up a consent decree establishing the Handschu Guidelines and a governing body to manage non-criminal investigations. Haight also indicated that the Department of Records and Information Services should examine the surveillance records from 1955-1973 for historical value and subsequently determined records prior to this period should be transferred to the Municipal Archives Division of the Department of Records and Information Services.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into two subgroups based on two separate groups of records that were received by the New York City Municipal Archives (NYCMA). Subgroup 1 was received in 2015 and was assigned the accession number ACC-2015-022. Subgroup 2 was received in 2018 and was assigned the accession number ACC-2018-014.
Subgroup 1 is arranged into ten series. In 1985, the New York Police Department Intelligence Division records were re-arranged by the NYPD's Inspectional Services Bureau to facilitate research access for the case of Handschu v. Special Services and other public requests. Except for audiovisual material in this subgroup, the arrangement of the records was maintained as much as possible. Audiovisual records found in other series in this subgroup were separated into the audiovisual materials series for the sake of preservation.
Subgroup 2 remains is unprocessed and remains in the same order as it was received by the NYCMA.
Subgroup 1 is arranged into ten series. In 1985, the New York Police Department Intelligence Division records were re-arranged by the NYPD's Inspectional Services Bureau to facilitate research access for the case of Handschu v. Special Services and other public requests. Except for audiovisual material in this subgroup, the arrangement of the records was maintained as much as possible. Audiovisual records found in other series in this subgroup were separated into the audiovisual materials series for the sake of preservation.
Subgroup 2 remains is unprocessed and remains in the same order as it was received by the NYCMA.
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title
- Guide to the New York Police Department Intelligence Unit records, circa 1930-1990, bulk 1955-1973
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Rossy Mendez, Zach Kautzman, Elliott Hadwin, and Patricia Glowinski
- Date
- 2024 March
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
Subjects