Stop and Frisk: The Efficacy of This Technique
Stop and frisk is one of the most controversial techniques used by the NYPD to reduce crime. Stop and frisk, as its name suggests, is when police officers stop pedestrians on the street and frisk them for drugs, weapons, and other illegal substances. On the surface, it might seem as if this is a violation of the Fourth Amendment which prohibits searches and seizures without probable cause. Almost by definition, stop and frisks are conducted without adhering to usual standards of probable cause since they are usually made relatively randomly at police discretion with only minor evidence of an infraction. Furthermore, the NYPD's specific stop and frisk program was recently declared unconstitutional but not primarily based on the Fourth Amendment. According to the district court judge the policy was "discriminatory, and showed little regard for the requirement that stops be based on rational grounds. It had led repeatedly to violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments" (Bergner 1). Concerns about racial profiling in the stops were the primary reason for the judge's ruling (Bergner 1). The decision, however, is likely to be appealed.
Stop and frisks are usually justified by the U.S. Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio which allowed non-obtrusive pat-downs. "The exclusionary rule cannot properly be invoked to exclude the products of legitimate and restrained police investigative techniques, and this Court's approval of such techniques should not discourage remedies other than the exclusionary rule to curtail police abuses for which that is not an effective sanction"...
Racial profiling is not new, however, and was a theory of sociology in the late 19th century known as Social Darwinism. Incorrectly using Darwin's theory of evolution, the Social Darwinists believed that some species were morally superior to others, and even some races superior to othersJohnson () Public perception, though, believes in favor of seeing race as a reason for crime, and having a considerable fear of anyone outside their own
Detroit has also joined Los Angeles and Chicago in having such a regulation. A similar bill was attempted unsuccessfully thus far in Texas (2001). Responding to the concerns of organizations that represent Hispanics, Muslims and individuals of Arab descent, the Detroit City Council unanimously recently approved an ordinance that prohibits city officials from profiling people based on their appearance, race and similar factors. The regulation also bans city officials from
The individual who learns the intensity of the racial hatred that exists through experiential learning knows that it is never wise to walk amongst the roses with one's head in the clouds just thinking or dreaming because living in the world meant watching at all times for approaching insult, breach of rights, danger and even death due to racial profiling. III. Perspective Two: The Public Official The public official is ever
For the past several decades the emphasis in policing has been building trust in the community. Making the streets safe for everyone requires mutual cooperation between the general public and the police. Without community support, the police cannot do it alone. In this regard, respect as been shown to be a better tool for decreasing crime than fear and when fear is present residents tend to avoid contact with
Racial Profiling: An Overview of the Debate According to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), racial profiling is one of the most controversial issues in America today. The data is clear that there is a stronger perception within many historically discriminated-against minority groups that profiling goes on and this has had a negative impact on community-police relations. Although data suggests that often members of minority groups perceive themselves as singled out
Race and Arrests Racial Profiling, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is a "longstanding and deeply troubling national problem." It involves police and private security personnel targeting people of color based on suspicions, in most cases, that the individual being targeted is up to something illegal. The ACLU states that racial profiling "occurs every day," and the result for the innocent person of color is often a "frightening detention,
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