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Budget, Education & City Services
Community Board Five Resolution Regarding NYPD's Stop and Frisk Program
WHEREAS, The New York City Police Department is on pace to execute 700,000 stops in 2011, more than double the number of stops that occurred in 2003; and
WHEREAS, 85% of those stopped last year were Black and Latino; and
WHEREAS, Only 7% of stops result in arrest, a figure consistent across racial groups; and
WHEREAS, No gun is found in 99.8% of stops; and
WHEREAS, Many of these stops are not based on reasonable suspicion that a crime has or is taking place, but instead rely on dubious grounds such as "furtive movement," which was recently banned as a basis for stops in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, One out of seven arrests in New York City are for low-level marijuana possession, costing the City $75 million a year in police and court costs; and
WHEREAS, Many youth are charged with these low-level offenses, which do not carry jail time, but can compromise their chances at securing financial aid, accessing public housing, obtaining gainful employment, and enlisting in the military; and
WHEREAS, legislation pending before the State Legislature should be passed making possessing small amounts of marijuana in "public view" a violation, rather than a misdemeanor; and
WHEREAS, In 2000, the United States Civil Rights Commission concluded that the NYPD stop and frisk program amounted to racial profiling; and
WHEREAS, The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York found, in August 2011, that serious questions remain about racial disparities in current stop and frisk practices; about the constitutionality of thousands of stops that do not result in arrest; and about the role quotas may play in driving the four-fold increase in stops over the last decade; and
WHEREAS, The current stop and frisk practice is creating a deep layer of distrust between police and the city's Black and Latino neighborhoods that makes solving crime harder, not easier; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five believes the NYPD must take steps to reform stop and frisk immediately-by increasing the accountability for precinct commanders through CompStat; providing new training at the Policy Academy to make stops more constitutional and less confrontational; and by exploring proven alternatives to stop and frisk, like the "call-in" approach pioneered by John Jay Professor David Kennedy, which has reduced violent crime by up to 60% in cities such as Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the United States Department of Justice should launch an investigation into how stop and frisk is used in New York to determine whether racial profiling remains a problem and, if so, whether the Department of Justice should appoint a special monitor.
The above resolution passed by a vote of 34 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining.