The Legal Aid Society condemned the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for breaking its promises to curb its collection of DNA from innocent New Yorkers, including children, to add to the City’s controversial DNA databank, reports NY1. During a City Council oversight hearing this past February, the NYPD testified that the database maintained by the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) obtained “approximately 32,000” profiles. The City promised to take steps to reduce that number by removing people who have never been convicted of a crime. But according to documents obtained by the Legal Aid Society, as of May of this year, the OCME has 33,825 people in its local DNA identification index, reports NY1.

In February, the NYPD promised it would remove from the ballooning City DNA index people who have not been convicted of any crime, while also cutting down on the genetic stop-and-frisk tactics that ensnared them in the first place. Testifying in front of City Council, top cops claimed Department would create strict guidelines for the collection of DNA from children, and change their strong-arm practices for collecting “consent” samples to let people know they have the right to refuse.

“It’s genetic stop-and-frisk,” said Terri Rosenblatt, Supervising Attorney of The Legal Aid Society’s DNA Unit. “It is just like what we saw in stop-and-frisk where police are targeting vulnerable communities, they are targeting Black and LatinX communities and they are collecting DNA from those communities.”