Stop And Frisk Analysis

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INTRODUCTION The thought of someone engaging in a behavior that benefits themselves at the expense of others is a ludicrous thought. Although, this seems like an insane thought to some people The Classical School of Thought actually portrays that this way of thinking was what constituted criminal behavior (Cullen, Agnew, and Wilcox, 2014). In an article written in the Washington Post by Phillip Bump, he talks about the major stop and frisk policy that was implemented in New York City. The whole idea behind stop and frisk was to combat firearms, narcotics and crime as a whole. This policy is a great example of The Classical School of Thought because it shows how the cops pursued their interests and how it harmed others and how stop and frisk enacted punishment according to Deterrence Theory.
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The Classical School of Thought
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In the article Ward talks about what Luis Stokes says about stop and frisks. Stokes said “It may be time for the U.S Supreme Court to revisit stop-and-frisk law” (Ward, 2014). Ward though says one problem that people cannot get past is the landmark case of Terry v. Ohio in 1968 (Ward, 2014). The concern is if police are not granted the right to search someone under reasonable suspicion then police may leave a lot of contraband on the streets.
According to the Classical School of thought and Deterrence Theories the stop and frisk policy should have been effective. When it was not effective it causes criminologists to look elsewhere in order to find a great method to stop crime. Another, reason why stop and frisk was ineffective was because of the tension that was created by this policy between minorities and law enforcement. Minorities were being stopped and searched at a ridiculously higher rate than non-minorities. The current state of stop and frisk is believed to be headed in the right direction under new mayor Bill De

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