A new poll shows that New Yorkers support an NYPD anti-terror campaign, despite growing concerns over the legality of the surveillance methods involved.

­ A Quinnipiac University poll, released on Tuesday, indicates that 58 per cent of New Yorkers approve of the way the NYPD treats Muslims. Sixty-three per cent approved the way the police were doing their job overall, and 82 per cent said the NYPD had been effective in combatting terrorism. Police commissioner Ray Kelly got an approval rating of 64 per cent.

The results come as somewhat of a surprise amidst growing concerns over the constitutionality of an NYPD anti-terror campaign. A number of activists and legal experts are saying that the NYPD’s surveillance methods violate their own guidelines, state laws, and quite possibly, the US Constitution.

The prominent Human Rights Watch organization also heavily criticized NYPD’s methods of surveillance, saying they were conducted illegally.

Last August, AP reported that the CIA was assisting the NYPD in gathering intelligence from mosques and minority neighborhoods. The NYPD is said to have sent undercover agents into mosques, university campuses and business to monitor and record activities.