New Report Highlights NYPD Data That Contradicts Bloomberg, Kelly on Stop-and-Frisk
The Center on Race, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice released a report today that highlights NYPD data on stop-and-frisk, crime and policing that contradicts several of Mayor Bloomberg’s explanations for the disproportionate use of stop-and-frisk on Black and Latino New Yorkers. The report was released in combination with the launch of the website www.stopandfriskinfo.org together with Communities United for Police Reform that highlights academic and public policy research on stop-and-frisk, examining its legality, effectiveness, impact and alternatives.
“The Mayor and, often, the police commissioner talk about Blacks, Latinos and Whites as if they are groups in which all members behave the same. In their view, Blacks and Latinos deserve to be stopped. Whites don't,” said Delores Jones-Brown, Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. “This is classic racism at its worst and without regard for the hundreds of thousands of innocent people whose lives are impacted. That is against the law.”
“The Bloomberg administration has often misstated the facts and data on stop-and-frisk, misleading the public for its own political purposes,” said Priscilla Gonzalez of Communities United for Police Reform. “This analysis and website will provide a clearinghouse of the NYPD’s data and other research that contradicts Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly’s hyperbolic claims about stop-and-frisk, and makes the facts available to the public.”
While Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly often attempt to justify the disproportionate number of Black and Latino New Yorkers stopped as matching the race of crime suspects, the NYPD’s own data tells a different story that suggests discriminatory profiling.
- Roughly 85% of stops over the last two years were not in response to a suspect description
- Nearly 90% of people who are stopped are neither arrested nor given a summons – found to be doing nothing wrong
- In 2012, nearly 300,000 stops involved Black New Yorkers, while less than 20,000 violent crime suspects were identified as Black, a rate of 15 stops for every supposed Black suspect (it’s highly unlikely that 15 people, on average, fit the description for each suspect of a violent crime indicating that the city’s stop-and-frisk program was simply racially profiling Black New Yorkers)
If the NYPD is stopping Black and Latino New Yorkers solely because those of the same race most often are suspected of committing violent crime, rather than using actual reasonable suspicion in each individual case, then that is the epitome of racial profiling. Race cannot legally be used as a proxy for reasonable suspicion.
“The Bloomberg administration has a habit of playing fast and loose with the facts when trying to justify its stop-and-frisk program,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “This new website and primer provides New Yorkers the full story on stop-and-frisk, not the NYPD’s spin. It illustrates why the City Council’s passage of the Community Safety Act was such a crucial moment in the movement to end discriminatory policing.”
“The NYPD’s data doesn’t justify the disproportionately high number of stops of so many law-abiding New Yorkers. It confirms what the public has known for many years: the NYPD is engaging in racial profiling,” said Darius Charney, senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights and lead counsel in Floyd v City of New York, a federal class action lawsuit challenging the NYPD's stop-and-frisk practices.
An examination of the NYPD data on the results of stops shows that Black and Latino New Yorkers are more likely to be frisked and face the use of physical force than white New Yorkers, despite the fact that whites are more likely to be arrested.
- Black and Latino New Yorkers are roughly 15% more likely than whites to be frisked as a result of a stop
- Black and Latino New Yorkers are approximately 6% more likely to face the use of physical force by an officer during a stop than white New Yorkers
- The proportions of white New Yorkers arrested as a result of stops has been consistently higher than the comparable proportions for Black and Latino New Yorkers for every year from 2003-2012, except 2008 and 2010
The NYPD data on gun recovery also discredits the effectiveness of one of the Bloomberg administration’s stated goals of its stop-and-frisk policy – to remove guns from the street.
- Over the last 11+ years of the Bloomberg administration, less than 1% of stop-and-frisk resulted in the recovery of a gun
- While stops have increased dramatically since Mayor Bloomberg’s first year in office in 2002, there has been no clear correlation between the number of increased stops and the recovery of guns
- The gun recovery numbers are also not consistent with greater productivity due to increased stops, nor do they show the steady decline that might corroborate claims that individuals are leaving their guns at home as a result of stops
Data Sources: NYPD Stop, Question and Frisk Report Database, 2003-2012 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/
The NYPD has made over 5 million stops during the Bloomberg administration and made over 500,000 stops in 2012 alone. Nearly 90% of those stopped have been found to be doing nothing wrong, and Black and Latino New Yorkers make up approximately 90% of stops.
Data Source: NYPD Stop, Question and Frisk Report Database, 2003-2012 (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/
Despite the 600% increase in the use of stop-and-frisk between 2002 and 2011, the number of gun violence victims in New York City has remained relatively unchanged. The lowest level of gun violence during the Bloomberg administration occurred in 2012, when the number of stops had its largest year-to-year decline of 22% (from a record-high 685,724 stops in 2011 to 532,911 stops in 2012).
Data Sources: Weiss, M. “Stop-and-Frisks Have Done Little to Reduce Shootings, NYPD Data Show.” DNAinfo New York, June 5, 2012. (http://www.dnainfo.com/new-
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR RACE, CRIME AND JUSTICE
The primary mission of the Center for Race, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York is to engage in activities that promote equity in justice. The Center is a multifaceted and multidisciplinary entity for exploring critical issues at the intersection of race/ethnicity, crime, and justice. Through a visiting scholars program, community partnerships, and collaborative efforts within the College and across City University, the Center sponsors activities and conducts funded research aimed at addressing the complex questions that plague our understanding of crime and justice in a diverse society.
About Communities United for Police Reform
Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is an unprecedented campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and to build a lasting movement that promotes public safety and policing practices based on cooperation and respect– not discriminatory targeting and harassment.
CPR brings together a movement of community members, lawyers, researchers and activists to work for change. The partners in this campaign come from all 5 boroughs, from all walks of life and represent many of those unfairly targeted the most by the NYPD. CPR is fighting for reforms that will promote community safety while ensuring that the NYPD protects and serves all New Yorkers.
Learn more: http://changethenypd.org/
Follow CPR on Twitter: @Changethenypd
Like CPR on Facebook: Facebook.com/Changethenypd
Facebook
Twitter