Stop And Frisk Research Paper

Some people believe that the Stop-and-Frisk Program helps catch potential criminals and reduce crime in New York City. Stop-and-Frisk allows officers in New York City to stop individuals based on reasonable suspicion and search them for any possible illegal contraband. However, many of these searches are often unsuccessful in stopping crime. The practice of stop and frisk by the New York Police Department(NYPD) has not been effectively utilized and raise serious concerns. It is a process that should be discontinued in New York City because of how intrusive it is to the lives of citizens. There are three reasons why the practice of stop and frisk should be discontinued in New York City: racial profiling of minorities; illegal stopping of bystanders;
Minorities are often the target of this program. “In the world of young Blacks and Latinos New York City, it has become a likelihood rather than possibility” (Hicks). Blacks and Latinos, mainly amongst the younger generations, have continuously become the primary target of stop and frisk. Not only are these tactics immoral, but they create a further distrust between the community and police. They instill fear into the people on a very personal level. Knowing that the police already view them as suspects, Black and Latino communities are more likely to commit a crime. “About 80 percent of those who are stopped and frisked are Black and Latino” (Hicks). The record breaking numbers have even prompted civil rights activists, leaders, and elected officials to protest several times. The public has had enough of this silence and has begun speaking out against New York’s police departments. “It’s racial profiling, it’s racism, and it’s having dire consequences in our city” (Taylor). Racial profiling is a tactic that humiliates and dehumanizes New Yorkers. Stop and frisk is a program that was made to protect society, but the NYPD has been taking advantage of it instead. The NYPD has also been criticized for illegally stopping bystanders with stop and
US District Court Judge, Shira Scheindlin, in Rich Calder’s article discusses how the NYPD has been systematically targeting minorities and violating their 14th amendment guarantees of due process and equal protection (NYPD’s stop-frisk policy violated rights: judge). It shows evidence that minorities are treated poorly in comparison to other races, which increases their animosity towards the police. By seeking out innocent minorities, it not only deprives them of their rights, but also relinquishes the purpose of the stop and frisk. The NYPD’s actions have revealed their complete disregard for the rights of New York’s citizens.
New York City has reached a tipping point when hundreds of thousands of innocent people are stopped, interrogated, searched and humiliated by the NYPD for doing nothing more than walking to the subway, going to school or leaving work. (Mallory)
This displays the violation of the freedom of individuals to freely walk on the streets without the fear of being randomly targeted for stop and frisk. Citizens should not have to fear nor give up their rights in order to feel protected under the police