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Report: 80% of Stop-and-Frisks Are Black, Latino
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 16, 2009
Modified Jan 16, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 16, 2009
Modified Jan 16, 2009
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The Center for Constitution Rights analyzed NYPD data between 2005 and the first half of 2008 and found, "approximately 80 percent of total stops made were of Blacks and Latinos, who comprise 25 percent and 28 percent of New York City’s total population, respectively. During this same time period, only approximately 10 percent of stops were of Whites, who comprise 44 percent of the city’s population."
Additionally, the CCR found "Blacks and Latinos are more likely to have physical force used against them during a NYPD-initiated stop than Whites. Yet the rates of summons and arrests from all stops is not only extremely low, but nearly the same across racial categories." In fact, for 2007, only 5.8% (27,632 arrests) of the 472,096 stops resulted in an arrest. The Daily News spoke to the NYPD, and spokesman Paul Browne pointed to a 2007 Rand report (which suggests the police do not racially profile during stop-and-frisk) and "said the number of minorities who were singled out under the policy is consistent with overall descriptions by race provided by victims and surviving witnesses of crime."
CCR is presenting the data in its lawsuit accusing the NYPD of racial profiling. One of the plaintiffs, David Floyd, a pre-med student at City College, said, "Getting stopped repeatedly by the police in my own neighborhood on the way home from work is humiliating. I brought the lawsuit to make sure they don’t do this to other innocent people on the basis of race. The police have to be held accountable when they break the law, just like anyone else.”
Tagged
lawsuit
nypd
racial profiling
stop and frisk
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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