The future of the controversial police tactic of “stop-and-frisk” could all hinge on the upcoming ruling of Manhattan Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin, as she prepares to come to a final ruling on a class-action lawsuit.
Written by Chris White
The policy of “stop-and-frisk” was first introduced by New York City’s current Jewish Mayor, Mayor Bloomberg, who is reported as being keen to continue the practice, warning that its abolition could cost lives.
Although a ruling which discontinues the practice of “stop-and-frisk” would cripple Bloomberg’s policy, legal experts have predicted that Schindlin may appoint an independent monitor to oversee how the USA’s largest police force conducts the practice before making any attempt to overrule it as unconstitutional.
Those opposed to the tactic argue that it has a disparate impact upon ethnic minorities and therefore provides a legal basis for the covert racial profiling of suspects, with Blacks and Hispanics being subject to more stop-and-frisks than White New Yorkers.
Mayor Bloomberg nevertheless denies the accusations, claiming that White New Yorkers were stopped too often under the procedure, a claim which has sparked outrage among America’s anti-discrimination lobby.
Recently the New York Daily News printed data which it claims contradicts Bloomberg’s assertion that too many Whites were stopped, by claiming that a disproportionate number of Blacks and Hispanics were stopped-and-frisked in the White areas of New York City.
Complaining about the police tactic was 16-year-old, Black New Yorker Shamell Keaton from Brooklyn who told researchers: “I understand stop-and-frisk, but they take it to another level.”
New York’s Police Department who defend “stop-and-frisk” claim that statistics proved that although only 6.9% of the City’s violent crime was committed by Whites, Whites still made up 9.7% of all those being searched under the procedure.
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