New York needs the NYPD to stop stop-and-frisk – and stop it now

[xchrom]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/02/new-york-nypd-stop-and-frisk


Demonstrators hold signs protesting the NYPD's stop-and-frisk crime-fighting tactic outside of Manhattan federal court in New York. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

The numbers don't lie: New York City police have conducted 5m "stop-and-frisk" searches since 2002. More than 86% of individuals targeted were black or Hispanic, and 88% were innocent of any crime. The stop-and-frisk tactic is clearly discriminatory, often humiliating, and totally ineffective. It must be abolished.

Just as astonishing as the raw numbers were the stories from my series of stop-and-frisk" town hall meetings last month in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. Young men and less-young men, black and brown, came to church halls and community rooms to tell of how, time and time again, they had been verbally abused by police, pushed up against walls, made to stand spreadeagled, and forced to empty their pockets – all for doing nothing wrong and while passers-by watched.

Rather than making the city safer, stop-and-frisk instils fear and undermines trust. If anything, this tactic is serving to deepen the chasm between communities and police – a relationship that is vital to maintaining a safe and secure city for all New Yorkers.

The policy is also a potential financial issue for the City and its taxpayers. As it is, claim settlements and judgments – including those involving civil rights actions – brought against the New York Police Department have risen from $74.1m in fiscal year 2002 to $185.6m in fiscal year 2011, according to numbers compiled by my office (pdf). Amidst this environment, stop-and-frisk has so angered communities that it is now at the heart of three federal lawsuits, one of them the class action case Floyd v the City of New York.

[marmar]

1. k/r

[el_bryanto]

2. That's a well reasoned argument

I'm curious if it appeared in the Guardian first or if they reprinted it.

Bryant

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Written for the Guardian by John Liu

"John Liu was elected comptroller of New York City in 2010, after having served on the city council since 2002. He is a member of the Asian Political Leadership Fund and a 2013 mayoral candidate."

[el_bryanto]

4. Fair enough. nt

[Bluenorthwest]

6. That 'comptroller of the City of NY' bit explains the insights, does it not?

Makes it harder to argue for racist policy. Rudy and Mike have nearly destroyed that city.

[el_bryanto]

7. Yes - well i think the article was very persuasive

It just is a little disturbing that it has to be printed in England rather than in New York.

Bryant

[KansDem]

5. "Stop and frisk" a few bankers or Wall Street CEOs

That'll stop the NYPD...

[rhett o rick]

8. Seems like a violation of Constitutional rights. Why isnt this headed toward the SCOTUS? nm