Glossary:

Raker: Undercover policemen who go into the general community to gather intelligence by ‘raking the coals’ talking to people, listening in coffee shops, restaurants and more.

Heard this in an interview with Matt Apuzzo on Fresh Air. Apuzzo along with 4 other AP reporters won a Pulitzer for a series of investigative articles about the NYPD’s secret spying program that monitored daily life in Muslim communities.