Stop And Frisk Case Study

For many years the NYPD has been using stop and frisk as a strategy for combating illegal acts. Police officers stop suspects and search with their hands through the person 's outer clothing to check whether the individual is carrying a weapon or other forms of contraband. The search is done to most suspected individuals (Dale, 2011). Beginning in the 1970s, in an attempt to reducing crime, New York City started urging its officers to stop individuals they viewed suspicious, to question them, and, if there was sufficient reason to suspect unlawful activities, to pat them down for things like paraphernalia and weapons. This kind of police movement has been maintained before: Derived from a case that occurred in 1968 in which the Supreme Court ruled that police officers may conduct limited searches on suspects who they believe are in possession of weapons and other forms of contraband. In places other than New York stop and frisk are known as a Terry Stops. In recent years there has been an overwhelming amount of uncertainty toward the policy because of the individuals that are being stopped. A vast amount of blacks and Latino’s have been stopped due to this …show more content…
The ruling asserted that police officers cannot base their decision to search an individual on a "furtive movement." For example if a person begins acting nervous or reaching in their pockets. To add on, this ruling is meant to prevent officers from stopping individuals based on their race or them fitting a general description, such as early 20 's black male. Furthermore, Officers who conduct stops have to give justifiable reasons to support why they made the stop. However, if during the stop and frisk the officer feels an object that they believe may be a weapon they may take the actions necessary to remain