The Stop and Frisk policy has reduced the number of crimes in New York City, or so we think. At some points I feel that the Stop and Frisk policy is unjustified and just plain embarrassing. Personally, I like the idea that criminals out there know that they can be stopped and frisked at anytime by police officers, which in turn results in less people carrying around guns or other potential weapons that may be used for homicides or assaults. However, I don’t see why a police officer has the right to stop and frisk an innocent individual like my older brother for no apparent reason. The policy should be enforced only if there due cause for doing so, not because they can.
In addition to embarrassing innocent people, police offers abuse Stop and Frisk to fill their quotas as well as to racially profile certain ethnic groups. Every month cops need to fulfill a certain number of quotas, so the Stop and Frisk policy gives cops the opportunity to frisk any guy on the street who isn’t causing anybody harm, in hopes that they might catch the individual with a misdemeanor. If cops are using Stop and Frisk to write people up on petty crimes instead of utilizing it for our safety, then get rid of it altogether. Not to mention that most people who are stopped are typically Blacks and Latinos. It’s true that statistics show that most crimes are committed by minorities, but that does not give cops the right to racially profile individuals. In order for Stop and Frisk to be truly effective is to either stop individuals that seem to be up to suspicious activity, or make it truly random like every other twentieth pedestrian to turn a street corner. Obviously it’s not perfect, but I feel it’s better than racial profiling.
Ultimately, I feel that Stop and Frisk could be a very effective means about keeping the public safe. However, cops seem to be abusing their authority with it, which is probably causing more harm than good. Statistics have yet to even prove a direct correlation between reduced crime rates and the installment of the Stop and Frisk policy. Hopefully, time will show that Stop and Frisk can help keep the public safe, if it’s not abused by the police for their own personal gains such as filling their quotas.
