According to the fourth amendment Act, if the police suspect that an individual has a reason to believe that a crime is going to be committed, they have a right to stop a citizen and search them briefly. A frisk is a pat down of a person’s outer clothing in search of possessions which are considered armful and dangerous . There are various issues which are associated with the stop and frisk campaign with concerns being raised over the possibility of racial discrimination, violation of privacy rights and illegal stops. Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be stopped when compared to their white counterparts. Police stops and interrogations are common with most of the people who are stopped being innocent - out of 10 stops nine are innocent. Stops and frisking is discriminatory and has a negative effect on the relationships between the police and the public.
The purpose of the amendment is to reduce crime. Over the years, there has been concerns if this has been achieved putting into question if the method is effective. Since 2001, crime in 2001 has only dropped by 29% since 2001, while it has fallen in other states which do not use the stop and frisk law. There was a 59% decline in crime in Los Angeles and 37% in Baltimore even though these states do not advocate for the stop and frisk law. Stop and frisk has been suspected to cause tension between the police and the community. The number of murder cases in New York has dropped significantly since 2001 by up to 19% . People however still fall victim to gunfire. Even though stops are believed to reduce the number of guns on the streets, studies have revealed that guns are only found only in 0.2% of the arrests which is not significant enough. Incidences of people being stopped and frisked have been on the rise since and is estimated to have increased by up to over 600% since 2001, with more innocent people being humiliated by the stopping and the frisking. The stop and frisk is discriminatory as 66% of the suspect of violent crime are people of color. In a study conducted in 2011, 79% was of blacks and Latinos, even though they only accounted for 24% of the population. The subjects of these stops especially who are at a young stage are affected adversely by these attacks. These stops reduce the confidence of the society to the judicial system. These stops are also associated with threats and the use of force. The community has also become less reluctant to cooperate with the police. Individuals who have at one point or another been stopped by police are also less likely to report criminalities.
One of the subjects of these stops, a medical student by the name David Floyd, proceeded to file a suit with the court. According to the suit, Floyd had been arrested twice; one time in the mid-afternoon and later in the anterior side of his home. The subject was a medical student, and the suit took up to 9 weeks. The judge who ruled in the case, Judge Scheindlin argued that most stops were based on racial profiling, with 80% of these cases targeting blacks and Latinos . Populations which had large numbers of blacks and Hispanics were said to experience more stops than other places. There is no written policy as to how the police come up with the targets for these stops. The amendment is accused of instilling fear to the residents, which is said to be a violation of the rights of the citizens since no one should go through their daily activities in fear of being stopped randomly by the police. The New York Police Commissioner Ray Keely found this decision offensive. According to the police, most crimes are conducted by young males. The police also argue that cases of criminal acts are found in certain neighborhoods which are associated with poverty and minority groups. In the case, most witnesses were innocent men who had been stopped without any reason.
Stop and frisk was enacted as an anti-crime strategy. Due to concerns that the strategy has caused tension between the public and the police, the number of stops has decreased tremendously for the last four years. This was done so as to improve the relationships between the community and the society. As a result, the number of crimes has also decreased as well as the number of complaints against the police. This is despite predictions that a decrease in the number of stops would lead to a decrease in crime. Stopping and frisking have been associated with misappropriations in which men, the youth, and minority groups were targeted. The technique was first used in 1980, and 1990’s when as a move to remove cocaine and drug dealers from the streets . Studies have revealed that these encounters have a negative impact on the subject and should be reduced to a minimum.
Crime rates in New York have reduced tremendously over the years while social scientist tries to determine the cause of the drop in the number of crime incidences. The number of stop and crime incidences has been on the rise and the relationships to the drop in crime is unclear. These stops are common in minority neighborhoods which are associated with the Hispanic community and African Americans. Supporters of the act associate it with reduced number of weapons on the streets and reduction in the number of lives lost as a result of gun shootings. Critics have however pointed out that 89% of these stops targeted innocent individuals, and no further action is recorded to be taken against the individual. These searches target people aged between the age of 13 and 25 years old. An encounter of the magnitude during the developmental years is bound to have a certain impact on the individual’s self-confidence on the judicial system .
A study conducted in 6 high crime neighborhood which used young victims as the respondents. An officer should have probable cause to believe that the suspect has been involved in a crime. The officer cannot stop a citizen based on a hunch. Of the study population, most of them admitted to having been stopped more than once. Half of the study population claims that they have been stopped up to 9 times in their lifetime, with some individuals reporting a maximum of 20 stops. On average, most respondents claimed to have been stopped up to 7 times on average . Men are targeted as compared to women, and most women who reported having been stopped admitted to having been in the company of boys. Most women are overlooked by the police and are more likely to get away with criminal activities. Most of the respondents also claimed that threats and physical harassment were common during these searches. Physical abuse includes placing hands on the subject and pushing them on the ground or up against a wall or a car. Other respondents reported arm twisting and cuffing while they were being frisked. Officers are also seen displaying their weapons during such incidences. Most of these stops were found unfair, and the officers had no grounds to conduct these searches.
Subjects of these arrests claim that a common question during these searches is there whereabouts and activities just before the stop. Most of them are stopped when carrying out daily activities such as walking, talking on the cell phone, relaxing in a park or standing outside a mall. Out of 42 people interviewed, only four admitted that they had engaged in suspicious behavior such as being around a fight before the stop by the police. Most subjects admitted that they believed that there were certain factors which were likely to influence the behavior of the police towards the subject. These subjects claimed that their age, race and dress code were major determinants . Most individuals believed that the best way to stay out of trouble with the police was by acting white. Minority groups and criminals are associated with behaviors such as sagging of pants and hip hop music. Most victims believed that pulling their pants above their waist was likely to keep them away from trouble. Other factors which are believed to influence the behavior of the official towards the subject include gender. Out of these individuals, only 4 out of ten would seek assistance from the police.
There is a lot of tension between the public and the police, and most individuals admit that they need the police, but they can’t stand being around them. Most individuals are also of the take that the police have a strong dislike for them. As a result of the frisking, police-community relationships has deteriorated especially in an environment where the police are needed to reduce the number of crimes . Individual’s build their perceptions about the police based on the encounters they have with the police. Individuals who have had unpleasant encounters with law enforcement are less likely to cooperate with them and they do not trust patrols in their neighborhoods.
In conclusion, most of stops made by the police are associated with discrimination and the lack of proper profiling of the subject makes it difficult for the objectivity of the officers to be determined. African American and the Hispanic community have been the target of most of these stops. These stops are also associated with physical force and threats. Ethical behavior is hardly followed by officers during these stops. These encounters target the youth and they leave a certain impression depending on the encounter with the law enforcement officer. Most victims admit that they are unlikely to cooperate with the police and seek assistance from them. The number of stops are being reduced since they are attributed to animosity between the public and the police.
Works Cited
Fratello, Jennifer, Andres F, Rengifo and Jennifer Trone. "Coming of Age with Stop and Frisk." Vera Institute of Justice (2013): 1-28. Web. <http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/stop-and-frisk-summary-report-v2.pdf>.
Hanna, Jason. Judge rules NYC's stop-and-frisk policy unconstitutional; city vows appeal. 12 August 2013. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/12/justice/new-york-stop-frisk/>.
NYVLU. Stop and Frisk Facts. n.d. 20 May 2016. <http://www.nyclu.org/issues/racial-justice/stop-and-frisk-practices>.
Southall, Ashley. "Decline in Stop-and-Frisk Tactic Drives Drop in Police Actions in New York, Study Says." New York Times 11 December 2015. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/nyregion/end-to-stop-and-frisk-drives-drop-in-police-actions-in-new-york-study-says.html?_r=0>.
