Who Get's Stopped By The Police?

I have a new article on the debate over racial profiling in the NYPD on Gotham Gazette. Click Here to view the article.

Comments

This section of your article jumped out at me: "...the report calls for the police to be required to clearly explain the reasons behind their action to anyone they stop", because at Bronx Community Solutions we've tried to improve perceptions of fairness by explaining the purpose and process of our mandates to our clients.

Another thing that I thought about while reading this article is how the broader context of crime patterns and police practices has been changing. I recently read a thorough study of arrests for "marijuana in public view" that analyzed whether there were racial disparities related to arrests on that charge. One implication of the study seemed to be that the emphasis of police enforcement of "quality-of-life" crime has moved from major public areas of the city, such as Times Square, Washington Square Park, and the subway system (places where tourists and residents from all parts of the city congregate) as police efforts and other factors have largely been succesful in dramatically reducing criminal and anti-social behavior in those areas, to residential areas and local neighborhoods.