Conclusion

The ideology that perpetuates the usage of stop-and-frisk is racially charged because it allows officers to stop seemingly suspicious people before they are able to carry out a crime. Thus, this raises the question of the meaning behind “suspicious.” Looking suspicious or “sus” results in the act of racial profiling. Additionally, the ideology of broken windows policing highlights the police’s problematic characterizations of “disorder.” What constitutes as “disorderly” and who gets to define its meaning? The answer to both of those questions: problematic institutions.

The authors of “Latino Youths’ Experiences with and Perceptions of Involuntary Police Encounters,” argue that “Afro-Caribbeans living in Washington Heights, the South Bronx, and El Barrio, whether citizens or not, have been forced to endure human rights and civil liberties violations as a result of routine stops and frisks” [21]. Furthermore, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) states that this practice “contributes to continued mistrust, doubt and fear of police officers in communities of color that are already scarred by systemic racial profiling and major incidents police brutality and torture” [22]. The Vera Institute for Justice asserts that “citywide, young black and Latino/Hispanic males are much more likely than any other demographic group to be victims of violent crime” and they “make up the overwhelming majority of victims for all types of crime” [23]. It is clear that individuals within the police force must re-examine who they consider more likely to carry out a crime and why, because their opinions are defective and add to the atmosphere of distrust.

In 1977, “the whole nation saw the Bronx burning during TV coverage of the World Series at Yankee Stadium” [24]. This famous footage contributed to the negative image of the South Bronx being an environment of decay and disorder. Media’s depiction of the South Bronx over the past few decades has helped fuel law enforcement’s mission to surveil communities of color. Along with people of color, the South Bronx has been victimized by the media. The escalation of aggressive policing tactics perpetuate a broken system that targets specific races and ethnic identities. Time will tell if relations between law enforcement and community members will improve, because in the words of Patrisse Cullors, “Black folks know surveillance intimately.”