A group of Muslims attend a rally in Brooklyn for mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio on Oct. 16, 2013. (credit: Jim Smith/WCBS 880) A group of Muslims attend a rally in Brooklyn for mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio on Oct. 16, 2013. (credit: Jim Smith/WCBS 880)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio told a group of Muslim supporters Wednesday that they won’t have to live in fear of being under constant surveillance if he’s elected mayor.

As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, de Blasio, the front-runner in the Nov. 5 general election, said that, on his watch, NYPD surveillance tactics would only be authorized to follow up on specific leads and that the police force would be under the supervision of a new inspector general.

“The efforts of surveillance have to be based on specifically specific information, and obviously you need to go through a careful vetting process,” de Blasio said during a rally at Columbus Park in Downtown Brooklyn.