What a week for "stop and frisk." On Wednesday a federal judge granted class action status to a Stop, Question and Frisk lawsuit against the NYPD. Yesterday, Police Commissioner Kelly took a beating from City Council members and released a memo outlining reforms to the program. And today, Mayor Bloomberg gets on the radio and says there's no significant divide between the public and the police on this issue. That's delusional!

Here's how I think the Bloomberg administration skirts around the matter. Opinion polls may show New Yorkers are in favor of Stop, Question and Frisk procedures in theory. But in practice, I don't see how anyone can condone racial profiling. Any safety tactic can be abused, resulting in a less safe environment. Perhaps it's not so much the theory, but the ways in which that theory is practiced.

According to Mayor Bloomberg, the NYPD's Stop, Question and Frisk program is "effective" in bringing down crime, and police "are not going to walk away from tactics that work." On his radio show this morning, Bloomberg also said there is no significant divide between the public and police over the street stop policy.

685,724 people were stopped by police in the five boroughs in 2011. The backlash over the policy coincides with the debut this week of a critical advertising campaign from the police union. The PBA claims beat cops are being forced to issue tickets by their superiors.

Should police officers be required to meet quotas? Do they lead to ineffective policing? Do you agree with Mayor Bloomberg that there is no divide between police and the public? What suggestions do you have to improve the Stop, Question And Frisk program?

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The cops pull me on 107ave on 109street and the came up to my car ask for license and insurance and I give it them the came back to the car 1 minute later and told me my car smell like weed and the make me step out the car and search me and then told me that we have to take in and I said why the said because I smell like weed and the thing is if my car smell like weed why the didn't the make me step out the car the first time the came up to the car and when the was taking me to queens blvd the said if I told them I have any medical history that the would come to my house and tow away my car.

Jamal

I am a white guy who has been living in Harlem for almost 5 years. Thankfully, I have been mugged only 1 time. I was mugged by two minority males who were hanging out in front of the bodega on the corner. They are usually being loud, smoking weed and drinking on the street.

In the past few months, there have been a lot more cops on foot patrol in my neighborhood and I wish they would stop and frisk more often. If they did, you can bet your @ss I would feel safer.

I don't see the small percentage of white people in my neighborhood standing in front of the bodega. If it IS racial profiling - so be it!

~ Anonymous

i was stopped and frisked in nov..im currently still going to court and fighting the charge..the cops made me empty my pockets on demand.then arrested me cause i had a ten dollar bag oof pot on me..it wasnt burning nor in public view,,,the cops are dirty and wrongfully areest people whie using stop n frisk tactics.

eric

The only people Who think that stop & frisk is ok are those who are secure in the knowledge that it will not affect them. When it was legal, a significant segment of the white population saw nothing wrong with black people being forced to sitting in the back of buses whie paying full fare. Policemen and firemen turned hoses and attack dogs at unarmed people who were just marching in streets. All that was ok with the majority of white folks. That does not make those practices right. Just because it won't happen to you does not mean it's not wrong.

Rose
Harlem

Something that works should be left alone. Statistics prove that it works and takes guns, drugs and purps off the street. If they don't target the guilty who are they going to target. There is nothing racial about it just reality. People must stop being afraid off the truth.

Jordan
Whitestone

I just came out the store the dt cops saw me come out i got on mt bike & rode down the ramp of the sidewalk not even 2ft away. They stop me & gives me a ticket this is not right. Racism is still alive & living we all need 2 realize it & stop acting like its not in the works we are living in.

Robert
Harlem

Who believes any of the numbers that the corrupt police get away with anyway? No reason to figure that the stop and frisk has reduced crime.

Marginalizing minority communities only causes hostility and aggression against those in power. In 30 years I've never felt unsafe on the streets of NYC.

Julie

Similar tactics were also used in Germany in the 1930's. The fact that it works doesn't make it right. I say end the practice. The policy assumes a person is guilty until he proves himself innocent. I have a simple suggestion-have the police walk a beat so they can get to know the neighborhood the are protecting. Also, I am sick and tired of Bloomberg trampling on our rights in the same of safety.

John
Bronx, NY

Fact one : police presence is increased in Harlem because of developers have moved into the area. Stop and Frisk is higher in this area than in the area of say 126 and Madison near the IRT where there is more street traffic and drugs sales and no stop and frisk. In fact I'm sure a prostitute is on the corner now.

Fact two - stop and frisk is done so that more money and the area can be developed not to stop crime.

Fact three: The high crime areas are the least developed areas, least educated area, and the areas where the unemployment is the highest. Solve those issues

K

The Mayor made a statement in his comments on how citizens feel safer walking the streets because of the stop and frisk policy in most neighborhoods. I believe the neighborhoods that feel that way are not being victimized by the policy. My suggestion for the Mayor is to read "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander so he can educate himself and understand how this policy is a racist use of tax dollars and his position of power.

Cathy

Why doesn't Commissioner Kelly put bait cars on the street

Luigi

The IVth Amendment to the United States Constitution reads (in part), "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, ... against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, ..."

Bobby
East Village

the problem with the random search and frisk is that they are targeting too many young people I thought the random search and frisk was to prevent terrorism and keep us safe and get illegal guns......not to bust a couple of kids who smoke pot......when i was in high school cops would stop and frisk me often....high school kids are not the real threat

James

The divide between the police and some segments of the pubic are about as far apart as the Mayor and reality. Just like his number based schooling seems to have the incidental (or desired) effect of marginalizing and destroying mostly working class minority citizens, this random tactic of grabbing some people up off the streets and harassing them does nothing but criminalize minority males in this city. If they want to do some real police work they need to have cops walking the beat and not cruising around in their cars at 90 mph, you can't really observe what goes on in a neighborhood and accurately determining who the trouble makers are and where they congregate. Anyone with any street smarts can go into an area and figure out who's doing what and minimize the fishing expeditions the NYPD engages in.

And for all of these people who are making comments about what goes on in areas they don't even set foot in, while you are entitled to your opinion you don't have a clue what you are talking about. The cops still take payoffs and ignore obvious drug dealers in neighborhoods and roust other people just to fill quotas. They talk about getting guns off the street, well the people that still are set on using them have plenty in their house.

RL
The Bronx

Absolutely not! People are discriminated against & unjustly ticketed when police R required 2 meet quotas. There exist a serious divide between the police & people of color, due 2 the blatant disrespect minorities are often subjected 2. I suggest that they R trained to treat all people humanely with dignity & respect n order 2 improve community relations.

Joyce
Springfield Gardens

Of course everything that Bloomberg things is right must be right. After all he’s the all-knowing mayor. And his police commissioner, well how can he be wrong?

When the statistics are on their side, they freely use them to make their case. But when the statistics are not on their side, they belittle them and assert without a doubt, they must be wrong.

I can’t wait until Bloomberg, Kelly, Quinn and numerous other NYC Government officials including all Borough Presidents are out of office.

Joe
Port Richmond, SI

Finally he meet some opposition and he doesn't like it now nor did he ever like it before.
Why is it always his word against ours? Get ready for him to be spiteful as he usually is when he doesn't get his way.

He thinks he's lord and master.

ALSO WHY IS IT ALWAYS BLOOMBERG SAYS? WHY DOESN'T HE COME UP TO YOUR PROGRAM JOHN AND SEE US SOMETIME.

HE'S IS A LOOSER.

HE CAN CALL THE RADIO SHOW HIS OR WHATEVER HE WISHES BUT THE PEOPLE ON THAT SHOW NEVER EXPERIENCE THE HARASSMENT ALL OF US DO IN THE OUTER BOROUGHS.

THEY, ALL OF THEM LIVE IN A DIFFERENT WORLD THAN WE DO.

EVERYONE CAN'T POSSIBLY BE WRONG WITH THEIR COMPLAINTS. THERE HAS TO BE SOME TRUTH TO WHAT THEY SAY.

WHAT ABOUT THE TICKET BLITZ?

HE IS HALLUCINATING WITH HIS BOGUS POLLS.

YESTERDAY I NOTICED THAT AGAIN AT KELLY'S HEARING AT THE CITY COUNCILS VENUE WHICH WAS ABOUT THE STOP AND FRISK AND THAT AGAIN I NOTICE THAT THE SAME PEOPLE ARE ON ALL OF THESE PANELS. WHAT GIVES WITH THAT. I ALSO NOTICE THAT THEY LOOSE THEIR COOL IN THE MIDST OF THE CONVERSATION. KELLY GAVE IT RIGHT BACK TO THEM.

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW ALL OF THIS END.

maxxiee
mp

If people are satisfied with stop and frisk as the mayor argues, it is because they have been told over and over by the police dept. that it is an effective way to fight crime, but now that this policy is being brought to light and the true statistics of its effectiveness are being challenged, I believe public support will wane.

Felix bay ridge

My suggestion for Stop, Question, & Frisk, is to simply eliminate the practice! It has no impact on lowering crime, and it serves no useful purpose.

Kevin, Canarsie Brooklyn

He's delirious. This is what happens when you buy a 3rd term

Rich Midtown East

As a former Police Officer in Staten Island and in Bedford Stuyvesant, I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum in regards to a communities specific needs. Stop and frisk is a useful tool, its like mom and dad use to say, you are who you associate with. You may not be doing anything wrong at the moment the Police stop you, however the group of people you are with, the area in which you are loitering, the way you dress and portray yourself, and your furtive movements all play a roll. Unfortunately if you reside in a higher crime neighborhood, you run the risk of being “inconvenienced” more often. If you respect the law, value public safety and quality of life, and of course have nothing to hide, then this practice should be looked at optimistically. The public must understand that a Police Officer is given a certain array of powers that allow him to perform his job efficiently and maintain public safety. A surgeon cannot do his job without a scalpel, if you continue to strip law enforcement of their powers, what will separate them from the public, how will they perform their job without the right tools? Must the public learn the hard way, and begin to wonder why the cops weren’t being proactive or preventative because they weren’t allowed to? The only negative with this system is how NYPD management pushes cops to do more and more, just like every other requirement. I myself have experienced such pressure with Stop & Frisk reports, summons’, and other paperwork. The word quota is replaced with “Projected number”, and if you don’t make it or at least get close, you risk a tour change or a solo foot post or some other undesirable assignment to remind you to step it up next month. This, as Patrick Lynch states, completely defeats the purpose of this tool and puts additional stress on Police Officers, and this stress translates into less then satisfactory public interactions. Despite the internal flaws in the system, I guarantee crime will peak if and when this tool is removed from PD.

George from Staten Island.

Instead of wasting tax dollars on violating peoples rights, they need to focus on where the drugs and guns are coming from. the drugs aren't causing the crime, its the lack of Jobs and people are just trying to survive the best way they know how.I agree with what another young lady mentioned the lack of courtesy, professionalism & Respect which is the catch phrase of the NYPD.

William

That is the most infringing action against the right to be left alone, The police are servants, slaves and enforcers of a public policy NOT Law

PE

The mayor uses the word tactics in which it's racial profiling and racism at best Blacks and Latinos make up 90 percent of those who are incarcerated the Mayor needs to be ashamed of himself and also Ray kelly They aren't stopping Jewish people in their neighborhoods go to their neighborhood and stop them and see how many guns you find and collars that the police would make. This country was built on racism and nothing has changed I can't believe how arrogant the Mayor can be. The streets aren't safe where are the police when you need them and the reason the streets aren't safe is because young Black men run the risk of being shot by police just for being Black and that's a fact and they get away with it.

John