NEW YORK, NY March 01, 2007 —In an attempt to dispel accusations that it uses racial profiling, the NYPD will allow an independent investigation of its stop-and-frisks. The Rand Corporation will look into new statistics that show a 5 fold increase in stop-and-frisks and that a majority of those stopped are black.

The review comes as the NYPD is trying the regain the public's trust. It's been 3 months since police fired 50 rounds at a car outside a Queens strip club, killing Sean Bell and wounding his two friends. A Queens Grand Jury continues to weigh the facts in that case with no news expected until later this month. In the meantime, the City Council is putting the police department under closer scrutiny. WNYC’s Bob Hennelly reports.

Part 2: NYPD By The Numbers