We believe that a major issue facing East Harlem is racially profiled ‘stop and frisk’. 17,000 cases of stop and frisk were reported in East Harlem’s 23rd precinct in 2011 (Mays, 2013). That is the highest number of cases in Manhattan in that year. Of those who were frisked, 61 percent were black while 36 percent were Hispanic. Many believe that racial profiling influences these cases. Many who have been frisked also complain of the humiliation and harassment they received. One audio recording that a 15 year old took while being frisked shows evidence of officers calling him inappropriate names as well as threatening to break his arm (Ross, 2013). He was stopped twice for walking down the street suspiciously while wearing a hoodie. Although stop and frisk can be implemented to decrease the crime rate; it should not be racially profiled, as statistics today seem to suggest. We will be looking at how ‘stop and frisk’ has impacted the East Harlem community by looking at the crime rates vs. the number of stop and frisk conducted as well as the racial profiles of those who have been stopped and frisked. In addition, we will look at the racial profile of unnecessary stop and frisk cases like the one mentioned above.
Here are the two sources:
Submitted by Julia, Fatema, Sara & Christian
