The NYPD keeps almost 40% of the phones it seizes, and NYC lawmakers say that has a 'severe impact' on young people in the city

• New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he'll review the NYPD's practice of seizing cellphones.
• Data showed that, in 2020, police failed to return nearly 40% of the phones they confiscated.
• The City reported the practice harms young people, who lose their connection to school and court.

New York City officials are looking into the police department's practice of seizing and failing to return arrestees' cellphones, after an article by the local news publication The City exposed the harm young people can face without vital technology connecting them to school, work, and family.

City data showed that in 2020, just over 60% of the 55,511 phones seized by the New York Police Department were returned to their owners, and just under 40% were not.

According to The City, many of those affected are juveniles, and many have reported that the loss of their phones have complicated their efforts to attend online schooling, virtual court appearances, or remote probation meetings.

"You can't contact nobody. Your friends can't contact you," one 16-year-old told The City. "Your family can't contact you. They don't know you're okay. Like, it takes a toll mentally."

In response to the news, three city councilmembers sent NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea a letter requesting more data on the seized cellphones, including a breakdown by precinct, age, race, and gender of the property owners.

"This practice has a severe impact on these youth and their families," the letter said. "During the pandemic, they rely on their smartphones and other devices to access virtual court, virtual school, virtual alternative to incarceration programming and to stay in contact with their defense teams during the pendency of their criminal legal system involvement."

A spokesperson for the NYPD told Insider the department has received the letter and "is currently reviewing it."

Asked in an NY1 interview on March 29 about The City's reporting, Mayor Bill de Blasio promised a review of the police department's policies.

"A phone means so much to folks nowadays, and the goal here should not be to penalize without going through the full justice system. So, I take that seriously," he said. "We'll review that, because I don't want to see a kid's property, a family's property withheld from them inappropriately."