Stop-and-Frisk Policy Review
According to the Washington Post article “Here’s what you need to know about stop and frisk — and why the courts shut it down” by Dylan Matthews, Stop and Frisk is “an NYPD policy wherein police will detain and question pedestrians, and potentially search them, if they have a reasonable suspicion that the pedestrian in question committed, is committing, or is about to commit a felony or a Penal Law misdemeanor” (Matthews). This means that if a person appears suspicious of having commit or being about to commit a crime according to a police officer then that police officer has the right to question, search and detain this particular individual. This seems like something that would benefit society, preventing crime and ridding society of wrongdoers. However, there are serious issues with this policy. Police are stopping people who simply “look suspicious” and according to a report a vast majority of these individuals are African American or Latino. African Americans and Latinos make up about half of the population in New York City. However, over 80% of stop and frisk stops are composed of …show more content…
By contrast, the areas with the least stops tend to be ones with lots of white people: Midtown, Little Italy, Chelsea and Central Park in Manhattan..” This quote shows that stop and frisk reports are different according to the type of demographics within a particular area of New York City. The areas with the most stops are areas with high populations of African American and Latino people, especially poor African American and Latino people. This shows that stop and frisk is targeting a certain type of look when thinking about or looking for a suspicious person. This detainment of people after a stop and frisk are increasing crime rates in these areas.The increased “crime” in these areas are taken care of by placing more police officers who are often
According to the Washington Post article “Here’s what you need to know about stop and frisk — and why the courts shut it down” by Dylan Matthews, Stop and Frisk is “an NYPD policy wherein police will detain and question pedestrians, and potentially search them, if they have a reasonable suspicion that the pedestrian in question committed, is committing, or is about to commit a felony or a Penal Law misdemeanor” (Matthews). This means that if a person appears suspicious of having commit or being about to commit a crime according to a police officer then that police officer has the right to question, search and detain this particular individual. This seems like something that would benefit society, preventing crime and ridding society of wrongdoers. However, there are serious issues with this policy. Police are stopping people who simply “look suspicious” and according to a report a vast majority of these individuals are African American or Latino. African Americans and Latinos make up about half of the population in New York City. However, over 80% of stop and frisk stops are composed of …show more content…
By contrast, the areas with the least stops tend to be ones with lots of white people: Midtown, Little Italy, Chelsea and Central Park in Manhattan..” This quote shows that stop and frisk reports are different according to the type of demographics within a particular area of New York City. The areas with the most stops are areas with high populations of African American and Latino people, especially poor African American and Latino people. This shows that stop and frisk is targeting a certain type of look when thinking about or looking for a suspicious person. This detainment of people after a stop and frisk are increasing crime rates in these areas.The increased “crime” in these areas are taken care of by placing more police officers who are often