New York ( CNN ) -- A controversial NYPD surveillance unit that cataloged information on Muslim communities never produced a lead that linked to a potential terrorist plot during years of investigating , according to the head of the city 's police intelligence division . The NYPD 's Demographics Unit -- or Zone Assessment Unit -- was put together with the CIA 's help following the September 11 , 2001 , attacks . The unit has acknowledged that it engaged in monitoring that included Muslim-owned business and mosques across the New York region . The unit 's reports , however , never led to a terrorism investigation in at least six years of surveillance , according to court testimony from Thomas P. Galati , the commanding officer of the police intelligence division . `` I could tell you that I have never made a lead from rhetoric that came from a Demographics report and I 'm here since 2006 , '' he said in a June 28 deposition unsealed Monday . `` I do n't recall other ones prior to my arrival . Again , that 's always a possibility . I am not aware of any . '' A 60-page report obtained by The Associated Press earlier this year showed NYPD maps of Newark , New Jersey , and photographs of Muslim residences and mosques , while other reports revealed that authorities had tracked websites and on at least one occasion placed an undercover officer with university students . There was no statement in the documents regarding terrorism or criminal activity . Galati 's June testimony was part of a lawsuit that actually began with a class-action case in 1971 and resulted in a historic settlement over a decade later known as the Handschu agreement , or Handschu guidelines . The settlement restricted police -- who were then accused of compiling dossiers on political activists and those perceived as radicals -- from investigating individuals whose activities were constitutionally protected . But civil rights attorneys last year filed papers in federal court challenging whether the use of undercover agents and informants within Muslim communities constituted a breach of those guidelines . NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said Tuesday that the `` premise that the demographic unit was used for wholesale spying on Muslims , using undercover officers and informants to do so , was false , '' and that neither `` confidential informants nor undercover officers were assigned to the demographics unit . '' Browne added that `` the small unit , about 8 people , surveyed places a terrorist might go to use a foreign language internet cafe , get a job off the books , find a place to stay , etc . '' However , police did uncover information that `` led them to recommend that investigators take a closer look . '' He pointed to an `` Islamic book store in Brooklyn frequented by the Herald Square plotter '' as well as a Staten Island location that was being separately investigated by the NYPD . Police actions adhered to the Handschu guidelines , Browne added , which were modified following the 2001 attacks to provide authorities greater leeway in investigating potential threats . In the first expansive official description of the city 's Demographics Unit , Galati testified in June that the NYPD had collected information often based on ethnicity and language . `` Most Urdu speakers from that region ( Pakistan ) would be of concern , so that 's why it 's important to me , '' he said . Listening in on a conversation at a Lebanese cafe could also be useful , he added , allowing analysts to determine what part of Lebanon the cafe-goers were from . `` That may be an indicator of possibility that that is a sympathizer to Hezbollah because Southern Lebanon is dominated by Hezbollah . '' But `` related to demographics ... `` I can tell you that information that ( has ) come in has not commenced an investigation . '' The purpose of the unit is to help `` identify locations if we 're faced with a threat , '' he noted , offering investigators a better starting point when confronted with a possible attack . `` The police department needs to know where we should go and look for that particular terrorist , '' he said . `` A lot of information that the Zone Assessment Unit captures helps us identify locations that we should look or not look for . '' He noted that `` the information in the Demographics reports does have value '' because it `` contains a lot of bits and pieces of value , of intelligence value . '' In May , New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa announced that the NYPD did not violate New Jersey laws when it carried out surveillance of Muslim-run businesses across state lines . The findings were the product of a three-month review meant to address concerns expressed by Muslim organizations , who later filed a lawsuit in New Jersey federal court against the NYPD for unfairly targeting the Muslim community . Meanwhile , news of Galati 's testimony drew statements from activists on Tuesday , who called the police program `` unconstitutional and inconsistent with our nation 's values . '' `` The NYPD 's spying on Muslims based solely upon their faith violates the most basic American values of religious freedom and equal protection of the law , '' said Glenn Katon , legal director of an activist group called Muslim Advocates . U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in March called reports of NYPD surveillance `` disturbing , '' though White House chief counterterrorism advisor John Brennan praised the city 's efforts to strike a balance between security and the protection of civil rights .
The NYPD 's Demographics Unit was put together with the CIA 's help . The unit 's reports never led to a terrorism investigation in at least 6 years of monitoring . Comment: NYPD says `` premise that the demographic unit was used for wholesale spying.. was false ''