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Ray Kelly Promises More Stop And Frisk Scrutiny, NYCLU Calls It Spin

Ben Yakas

Published May 17, 2012

Modified May 17, 2012

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Ben Yakas

Published May 17, 2012

Modified May 17, 2012

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Yesterday during a Q&A at City Hall, Mayor Bloomberg claimed that the NYPD's controversial stop-and-frisk policy is actually not that controversial, and most NYers (outside a vocal "minority of people") overwhelmingly support it. But Police Commissioner Ray Kelly seems to disagree with that assessment—why else would the NYPD issue a department-wide memo instructing officers (yet again) to not racially profile? And why else would Kelly send a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn describing the changes and improvements the NYPD has made to "increase public confidence" in the policy?

In the letter (you can read it in full below)—which he directed to Quinn as a response to her calls for reforms to the policy—Kelly assured that with this latest memo, there'd be a "greater level of scrutiny" on stop-and-frisks. In addition, the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Training will begin reteaching officers how to properly conduct a lawful stop, there will be instructional videos shown to officers, there are more community outreach efforts, and the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) will have more power to investigate reports of unlawful stops.

Kelly Letterto SpeakerQuinn 5.17.12

Quinn had requested that the NYPD mandate more “cultural sensitivity” training, and it sounds like some of those measures were meant to assuage her. But Quinn didn't sound so impressed with the "reforms" altogether: “With these actions today, Commissioner Kelly and the NYPD are taking an important step forward however, more must be done to significantly reduce the number of stops and to bridge the divide between the NYPD and the communities they serve,” she said in a statement.

The NYCLU and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer were even harsher in their assessment—the NYCLU called stop-and-frisk "fundamentally broken," and labelled Kelly's letter a PR stunt: “It’s clear the police commissioner is feeling political pressure around the NYPD’s abusive stop-and-frisk program, but this response is nothing more than a desperate public relations attempt,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “The mayor and commissioner need to give up the spin and recognize that the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program is fundamentally broken. The NYPD is out of control, and the culture and practices of the Department need a full-scale overhaul so that the fundamental rights of all New Yorkers are respected and all communities can trust and respect the police.”

Stringer, who will be running for mayor next year, said Kelly took a "step in the right direction" by acknowledging the need for more oversight and training, but agreed with the NYCLU that this is not enough: "Today’s public relations gambit before the City Council by the NYPD does not honestly address a policing crisis which is dividing this city. The numbers speak for themselves: new data shows the City is on track to stop some 800,000 New Yorkers this year, the most ever. A reform plan that does nothing to reverse that trend is not real reform."

According to recent reports, the NYPD is on pace to surpass last year's record 685,724 stop-and-frisks in 2012. While Kelly—who has previously called stop-and-frisk criticism "pandering"—is at least trying to address criticisms (even if it's just superficially), Bloomberg was defiant and unapologetic in his support for the policy, channeling his ire toward the media:

If it wasn't for you reporting on a handful of people who are very vocal, I don't get that sense. And when you do polling, my understanding is that the polls show overwhelming support by the public for the tactics we've been using to bring down crime. There's always going to be somebody who disagrees, and they have a right, but if you were ever to do a balanced story, I think you'd find that it's a minority of people who don't like the tactic. We're very careful to follow the law.

Tagged

arrests

bloomberg

christine quinn

cops

mayor bloomberg

police

stop and frisk

Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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