Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Report Names Neighborhoods With Most NYPD Stop And Frisks Incidents
minority communities from the start leading to protests and arrests, but now the New York Civil Liberties Union is coming out with a report
saying the policy was leveled on gentrifying communities as well.
Targeted communities included Williamsburg, Brooklyn home to Hasidic
Jews, Latinos and hipsters where 17,566 people were stopped ranking
fifth on the top ten list.
East Harlem ranked 6th and is
represented by City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito who just last
week tangled with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly over the policy during a
council hearing.
Kelly said "The government has an obligation to try to stop crime. What
are leaders in communities of color saying to get guns off the street?
Don't tell me a gun buy back program." only to be interrupted by
Mark-Viverito who said "Our communities are under siege. And there's
got to be a way of addressing that."
In all the N.Y.P.D. made 684,000 stops in 2011 with the 75th precinct in
East New York topping the list with 31,100 people stopped followed by
the 73rd precinct in Brownsville. The 2 neighborhoods have high crime
rates.
The N.Y.P.D. says reasons for a stop could include carrying a suspicious
object, or casing an area or a person or other suspicious activity. The
department says the policy is a valid crime fighting tool that helps to
drive down crime and make people safe.
But the N.Y.C.L.U. says only 3 percent of stops in East New York lead to
an arrest. In East Harlem 5 percent of stops resulted in arrests and 6
percent of those stopped citywide were arrested.
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-nypd-stop-and-frisk-032012,0,5582022.story
