Zohran Mamdani Calls for Eliminating NYPD’s Gang Database

NYC Mayoral race frontrunner Zohran Mandani is looking to lock up the gangbanger vote ahead of the November election. 

Mamdani criticized the rising number of detainees at Rikers Island, which he blamed on Mayor Eric Adams, and also called for the abolition of the NYPD’s gang database.

“The jail population of Rikers has increased since Eric Adams has come into office by more than 1,000 additional incarcerated New Yorkers. And what is quite staggering to me is that we know that we can reduce that jail population to less than 4,000,” Mamdani told Spectrum News NY1.

Mamdani argued that the number could be lowered to around 3,700 and pushed for more reforms to shorten the time suspects spend in jail.. If elected, he pledged to bring the jail population into compliance with a 2027 law mandating Rikers’ closure.

In the same interview, Mamdani advocated abolishing the NYPD’s gang database, claiming New Yorkers are added for reasons as trivial as staying out late or posting certain photos online. He also questioned whether metal detectors make schools safer, and said they harm students’ self-esteem.

Instead, Mamdani echoed the calls of the “defund the police” movement (which he’s previously publicly supported) and called for channeling more “resources” toward social workers and mental health professionals to respond to certain situations.