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NYPD drops no-bid deal with Israeli surveillance firm Cognyte after backlash
The New York Police Department is backing away from a $750,000 no-bid contract with Israeli surveillance company Cognyte for phone-tracking technology and will open the purchase to competing bids.
The New York Police Department is backing away from a $750,000 no-bid contract with Cognyte, an Israeli surveillance company, and will restart the procurement to accept competing bids for similar technology, the department confirmed Tuesday. Cognyte may still submit a bid.
"It did not meet the criteria for a sole source procurement, so we are moving to an open, competitive procurement process," an NYPD spokesperson said.
The deal covered FalcoNet, a mobile system that mimics a cell tower to force nearby phones to connect, allowing police to track suspects. It would have been mounted on department vehicles. Negotiations began in December 2025 and were first reported by the New York Daily News, which said the reversal followed public criticism of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a meeting with the mayor and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
City Council Member Tiffany Cabán said it was "time for our city government to cut ties with companies like these that profit off of human rights abuses," while Council Member Julie Won said "warrantless spying on everyday New Yorkers will not keep us safe."
The NYPD says detectives need a warrant before using cell-site simulators, except in emergencies such as searches for missing people, in which case a warrant must be obtained within 48 hours. The Legal Aid Society says the department has used such devices more than 1,000 times without a warrant in the past.
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