NYPD Stop Frisk Policy and its Statistical Racial ImpactsThe NYPD (NY Police Department) stop and frisk policy is a policy introduced by the New York City mandating the police officers to stop pedestrians and frisks them for contraband, and weapons. The rules are cited in the Section 140.50 in the New York criminal procedure law. In 2011, the NY police force used the frisk policy rule to stop approximately 685,724 people, however, the number reduced to 22,939 in 2015. The policy has become a controversial issue because over 5 million people were frisked during the first decade after introducing the policy. In 2002, the numbers of the reported cases were 685,724 in 2011 before slashing down to 533,042 in 2012. The goal of stop and frisk policy is to reduce the incidence of violent crimes and keep guns off the street to improve the quality of life of New Yorkers. By adopting the frisk policy, the New York City administrators have been able to reduce the crime rate substantially over the last 20 years. Despite the benefits of the stop and frisk policy, large percentages of people stopped and frisked are African-Americans and Latinos. Moreover, only 5.9% of people frisked in 2011 led to an arrest and 2% led to a weapon recovery.
The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of NYPD stop-frisk policy and examine the statistical racial impact of the policy.
Impact NYPD Stop-Frisk Policy
Stop and Frisk is a New York police practice of searching or frisking people. Under the law, a police officer has no right to stop an individual for a search without having a substantial proof or reasonable suspicion that the person is engaging or about to engage in a criminal activity. However, frisking is legally permitted in New York where police officers have the right to search an individual if they believe that the person...
New York state law allows police officers to use a standardized form to record the reason for the arrest. Within 10 years of adopting the policy, the stop and frisk policy has grown at an astonishing rate and reached its peak in 2010.
Stops and frisks policy have a profound impact on individuals that include abusive behaviors by police, inappropriate touching, forcibly stripped of people under clothes in public, sexual harassment, extortion of sex, and other degrading and humiliating treatments. While 9 out 10 people stopped and frisks never result in an arrest, however, all people frisked are obliged to cope with psychological, emotional and social trauma resulted from the frisk policy.
Sexual harassment and inappropriate touching are the major impacts of stop and frisk policy. Typically, some police officers go to the extent of frisk the private parts, underwear and people's rectal to verify if they do not hide the drug there. This type of frisk can be highly embarrassing for people especially when a male police officer stops and frisks the private parts of a female suspect. (Wendy, 2012). A number of people at Manhattan in New York affirmed that when police officers stopped them for a frisk, they were sexually harassed, inappropriately touched, and sexually assaulted. Some people also confirmed that some police officers touched their genitals during the frisks, sometimes asked them to remove their clothes in public. A deplorable thing is that if people speak against inappropriate touching, they can be charged with resisting arrest. The issue makes many people feel violated and disrespected. humiliated, shameful and harassed. (Wendy, 2012).
The police brutality has been identified as another impact of stops and frisks leading to an ever present of police violence. In the New…
