NYPD patch (ScoutNurse/by-nc-sa/flickr)
Stop-and-frisks performed by members of the New York Police Department have hit the highest quarterly total on record, according to new numbers released by the department.
There was a 22 percent increase in the number of stop-and-frisks performed by police in the period between January and March 2011 when compared to the same time last year, according to statistics. During that time, police recorded 183,326 stop-and-frisks.
If the other three quarters of 2011 show a similar rate of increase, the police would finish this year with more than 700,000 stops -- the highest total ever recorded.
Officers need reasonable suspicion that someone is committing or about to commit a crime before they can perform a stop-and-frisk.
The police department has been fighting a class action filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2008 that alleges that hundreds of thousands of stops were made without suspicion and directly target blacks and Latinos.
The police department maintains that stop-and-frisks have helped reduce violent crime in the city. Twelve percent of the stops between January and March 2011 resulted in either an arrest or summons.
Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who covers criminal justice, terrorism and the courts for WNYC. She found her way into public radio after practicing law for five years, and can definitely say that walking the streets of New York City with a microphone is a lot more fun than being holed up in the office writing letters to opposing counsel.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.