Stop and Frisk Policy

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to discuss the pros and cons of the Stop and Frisk policy in New York. This paper covers a short history of Stop and Frisk. It also will address the progression of the policy throughout the years. Furthermore, it will relate the topic to the management, gender, and race class focusing in on how the unconscious bias plays a role in how the police choose who to stop. The paper also includes some statistics of Stop and Frisk encounters. It will conclude with the group opinion of the Stop and Frisk policy. INTRODUCTION New York City has a policy in place known as the Stop and Frisk policy. According to New York Criminal Procedure (2012), if a police officer, “suspects that (a) person is committing, has committed or is about to commit either (a) a felony or (b) a misdemeanor defined in the penal law, and may demand of him his name, address and an explanation of his conduct ("New York Criminal," 2012).” Also stated in the procedural handbook, if a police officer, “reasonably suspects that he is in danger of physical injury, he may search such person for a deadly weapon or any instrument, article or substance readily capable of causing serious physical injury and of a sort not ordinarily carried in public places by law-abiding persons ("New York Criminal," 2012).” In short, this policy allows officers to stop suspicious citizens and frisk them for weapons or drugs; it was put into place on September 1, 1971 (“WNYC Newsroom,” 2012). According to Hennelly (2009), “Ninety percent of those stopped were people of color. Only about 10 percent produced an arrest or summons… the NYPD has consistently denied that its stop and frisk strategy involves racial profiling.” Stop and frisk has been the cause of many disagreements and lawsuits (“WNYC Newsroom,” 2012); the policy comes with many pros and cons.
PROS AND CONS
New York’s stop and frisk policy could be seen as both negative and beneficial. If the stop and frisk is