REMARKS
History and controversy of stop and frisk in New York City
0:02:35
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3 min
Council Member Salaam outlines the controversial history of stop and frisk in NYC, highlighting racial disparities and legal challenges spanning over 25 years.
- Mentions the 1999 New York state attorney general investigation finding high rates of unconstitutional stops
- Discusses the significant increase in stops during the Bloomberg administration, peaking at over 685,000 in 2011
- Describes the 2008 lawsuits and the resulting federal court ruling against the city
Yousef Salaam
0:02:35
The NYPD's use of stop and frisk has been the subject of significant controversy due to racial disparities amongst these amongst those subject to NYPD's investigations, racial profiling, and unconstitutional policing.
0:02:52
This unfortunate history has marred the department and been a focus of legal challenges and advocacy efforts aimed to reform NYPD practices for more than 25 years.
0:03:05
In 1999, a New York state attorney general investigation found high rates of unconstitutional stops by NYPD officers.
0:03:15
The attorney general concluded blacks and Hispanics were significantly more likely than whites to be stopped even after controlling for race specific present crimes, crime rates, and present population composition by race.
0:03:33
That same year, a class action lawsuit was filed against the city alleging racial profiling and unconstitutional stop and frisk by NYPD.
0:03:42
In 2003, a settlement was reached and the city agreed to adopt written policies prohibiting racial profiling and requiring audits of police officers, stop and frisk to determine whether stops were being sufficiently documented and conducted in compliance with the constitution.
0:04:03
Despite this agreement, stop and frisk rose significantly during the Bloomberg administration, increasing from 97,000 stops in 2002 to over 500,000 stops in 20 in 2006 and peaking at over 685,000 stops in 2011.
0:04:25
During this period, black and Latino individuals were subject to being stopped by the NYPD at disproportionately high rates as those populations consistently accounted for over 80% of all stops, and nearly 90% of individuals stopped by NYPD were found to have done nothing wrong.
0:04:50
In 2008, additional lawsuits were filed against the city and NYPD.
0:04:56
Following a 9 week trial, a federal court found the city liable due NYPD's deliberate indifference to the constitutional violations arising from the department's stop and frisk practices.
0:05:11
This is this resulted in a remedial order, which sought to address the constitutional violations found in the NYPD's use of stop and frisk, including the appointment of a federal monitor tasked with developing reforms to department policies, evaluating compliance with ordered reforms, and publishing public reports on related NYPD compliance.
