The Looming and Racially Disproportionate Shadow of Stop-and-Frisk
The looming and racially disproportionate shadow of stop-and-frisk continues to loom large over New York City more than a decade after the practice was declared unconstitutional, according to a new report.
Stop-and-Frisk Tactics Continue
amNewYork Metro spoke with legal experts who are weighing in after the study alleged that two specialized NYPD units are engaging in stop-and-frisk methods with members of the public.
NYPD’s Neighborhood Safety Teams and Public Safety Teams
The federal monitor overseeing the NYPD charges in its Feb. 3 report that the department’s Neighborhood Safety Teams (NST) and the Public Safety Teams (PST), which were created to tackle quality of life and gun violence in the city, performed controversial stop-and-frisks without probable cause. The monitor’s report, which looks at data from 2023, reveals that only about 60% of stops had legal basis while 89% of individuals the cops engaged in were Black and Hispanic men, insinuating that the officers had a racial bias.
Legal Experts Weigh In
Samah Sisay, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she specializes in abusive police practices, believes that the units are conducting unlawful stops, especially on members of the Black and Brown communities.
“NST and PST wear uniforms but patrol in unmarked cars, and there have been numerous anecdotes about them driving up to someone and jumping out of their car to conduct unlawful (no reasonable suspicion) stops and unlawful frisks and searches,” Sisay said. “Despite these violations, command-level supervisors are not correcting these issues and found that only 1% of stops were unlawful in the period the Monitor reviewed.”
NYPD Response
The NYPD resisted the report, arguing that the data used in it are outdated and do not accurately reflect the department’s state in 2025.
“We appreciate the monitor’s report and look forward to reviewing it. As the report notes, this data is from 2023, and the NYPD has taken affirmative steps since then to address many of these issues, including the implementation of ComplianceStat in January 2024,” an NYPD spokesperson said.
ComplianceStat
Police say that in January 2024, the NYPD implemented ComplianceStat, meetings attended by Patrol Borough commanding officers and the precinct commanding officers from those Patrol Bureaus. During these meetings, they scrutinize video footage that detects and corrects deficiencies. Additionally, these meetings focus on underreporting, stop, frisk, and search compliance, and BWC compliance in the prior 28-day period.
Conclusion
The report highlights the ongoing issue of racial bias in the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices, and the need for meaningful reforms to address this issue. It is crucial that the department takes concrete steps to ensure that its practices are fair, transparent, and in line with the law.
FAQs
Q: What is stop-and-frisk?
A: Stop-and-frisk is a controversial police practice where an officer stops and searches someone without probable cause.
Q: How common is stop-and-frisk in New York City?
A: According to the report, only about 60% of stops had legal basis, and 89% of individuals the cops engaged in were Black and Hispanic men.
Q: What is the Police Department’s response to the report?
A: The NYPD has resisted the report, arguing that the data used in it are outdated and do not accurately reflect the department’s state in 2025.
